* Asian spot LNG prices steady at $7.30/mmBtu
* North Asian utilities mostly done with winter stockpiling
* Angola LNG offers November-loading cargo
By Mark Tay
SINGAPORE, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices held steady this week amid thin trade as most North Asian utilities have already secured their supplies for winter.
The price of LNG for January delivery was pegged at $7.30 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) this week, stable from last week, market participants said. Bids were pegged around $7.20-$7.30/mmBtu and offers at around $7.50-$7.60/mmBtu.
"Now in the market, nothing much is happening. There's not a lot of supply tenders and demand is not up," a Singapore-based trader said. The market was adopting a "wait-and-see approach" as most north Asian buyers had already procured enough cargoes to meet winter demand, the trader said.
An official from a Japanese utility confirmed it had already covered its winter requirement, and was not seeking cargoes.
"There may be more demand but that depends on the weather," the Japanese official said, referring to a possibility that the winter could be colder than expected.
South Korean utilities are also likely to have completed their winter procurement after aggressively seeking cargoes via tender late last month. Asian power plants are running at full tilt as the region braces for the early onset of winter largely due to a La Nina weather pattern. Temperatures in Seoul and Beijing are forecast to drop below levels typical for November and December, while many parts of Japan have also been hit by colder conditions than usual. trade in the Asian market is thin as traders are focused on term buy tenders from Pakistan and India's Torrent Power, traders said.
Also, Angola LNG issued its second sell tender in two weeks. The producer is offering a 160,000 cubic metre cargo loading Nov. 18-20. Bids are due on Nov. 21 and will have validity to Nov. 22, according to traders who have knowledge of the tender. The delivery destination of the cargo will be restricted to Europe, Brazil and the Americas. destination restrictions on the cargo could indicate the African producer may have more sell tenders lined up as it requires its vessels to return to Angola quickly for other deliveries, traders said.