Korea Gas Pays Less for LNG Due to Warm Weather

Korea Gas Corp., the world's biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas, halved spot cargo purchases to about 20 this winter from a year ago because of warmer weather and higher stockpiles, a company official said.

The company paid about 30 percent less for the cargoes, each totaling about 55,000 metric tons, in the spot market for immediate delivery as global demand fell because of a warmer Northern Hemisphere winter, the official involved in LNG purchases said today, asking not to be identified because the information isn't published.

State-controlled Korean Gas in January lowered prices to factories and households for the first time in 21 months, cutting costs for consumers. Benchmark prices for the fuel fell as temperatures in Japan, Korea, the U.S. and Europe exceeded long-term norms, boosting inventories near historic highs worldwide.