By Oleg Vukmanovic and Mark Tay
LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Asian spot LNG prices for October delivery edged up by 5 cents this week, buoyed by a spot purchase by Japan's Tohoku Electric.
Healthy inventories meant that Japanese utilities generally showed restraint in their appetite for LNG, but they were still willing to consider competitive offers, one trader said.
Power utility Tohoku paid between $6.20 and $6.30 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for an October cargo.
Spot prices LNG-AS for October delivery rose 5 cents to $6.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).
October is regarded as a shoulder-month in Asia with activity winding down as demand drops off.
However, some demand emerged from Taiwan's state-run CPC for a January cargo, while traders also cited potential interest from some private South Korean importers, not including Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS), with a tender expected soon.
A maintenance shutdown of train three at Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass liquefaction plant appears not to have affected demand from KOGAS, the main taker of train three volumes, traders in Asia said.
However, overall loadings from Sabine Pass in Louisiana were delayed by at least three days because of disruption caused by Hurricane Harvey, shipping data showed. supply could come available from Australia and Papua New Guinea, traders said.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Global natural gas & LNG prices
http://reut.rs/2uXZJCq Global LNG supply vs demand
http://reut.rs/2sJ47UQ
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>