SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices weakened this week as demand slowed after a flurry of purchases in September and with many players attending a major trade conference in Barcelona.
Spot prices for November <LNG-AS> delivery <LNG-AS> fell to $11.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down 50 cents from the week before, industry sources said.
October cargoes are likely valued at $11 to $11.30 per mmBtu, one source said.
Rising crude prices and spot demand from Japan, South Korea and China ahead of peak winter demand for heating had pushed LNG prices up to multi-year seasonal highs.
However, buying activity slowed this week as many LNG traders are in Barcelona for the Gastech trade show, where delegates said the outlook for the natural gas business was better than at any point since 2014.
In the spot market, Malaysia's Petronas may have offered an LNG cargo for late-October delivery from Bintulu, a second industry source said, though this could not immediately be confirmed.
Malaysia's LNG exports fell this year as domestic gas pipeline issues have plagued the country since January.
Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, a unit of Kuwait's state-run oil group, may have offered an October-loading Wheatstone LNG cargo, though details about the price and buyer could not immediately be confirmed.
Wheatstone is KUFPEC's first investment in international LNG production.
Commodities trader Vitol offered an LNG cargo to be delivered into Bilbao in Spain during price agency S&P Global Platts' assessment process on Thursday, a trade source said.
Vitol offered the cargo at $10 per mmBtu, but it did not attract buyers, the source said.
The fall in spot prices could be temporary as buyers from North Asia are expected to enter the market to procure more cargoes for winter, traders said.
(Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan; Editing by Darren Schuettler)
