With large parts of Asia in the throes of their coldest winter in decades,Japanese utilities are seeking LNG spot cargoes with a vengeance,and are ready to outbid their European peers by a wide margin,despite doggedly high prices seen in the UK's Isle of Grain and Belgium's Zeebrugge terminals,Western traders report(p5).But no firm deals have yet come to light for Atlantic Basin cargoes to Japan this month to verify this speculation even though - in the most novel twist to the story - spot LNG supply isn't apparently all that tight.Japanese traders claim spot demand is actually quite modest(p6).But Western traders point to a shortage of LNG tankers available for spot charter as the main factor threatening to segregate existing supply from acute demand.
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