A key indicator of LNG carrier spot market strength dipped to its lowest level in more than two years as cargoes and fixtures remained at a trickle.

The Baltic Exchange’s BLNG Index, a composite of three key routes for 160,000-cbm ships, dipped 2.5% over the past week to reach 3,461 on Friday, which is the equivalent of a $34,610-per-day spot charter rate.

The figure marks the lowest level for the index since April 2022, before LNG carrier spot rates mounted a dramatic spike later that year, and it came as the index has traded mostly sideways since January.

Baltic Exchange analysts described a spot market that has struggled to see activity pick up after the Easter holidays, with a dearth of fixtures reported and full inventories at LNG receiving terminals, giving little need to move cargoes.

The market is becoming increasingly long on ships and interest in period charters is limited.

“Brokers [are] reporting that if fixing six months you shall be free only in the lead-up to the winter market and could therefore miss the uptick in spot so owners are wary,” the analysts wrote in a weekly update, though TradeWinds reported earlier on Friday that Flex LNG scored a 500-day charter extension on its 173,400-cbm Flex Endeavour (built 2018).

The Baltic Exchange assessed spot rates on the BLNG1 route from Australia to Japan at just under $30,800 per day for a 160,000-cbm ship, which marked a decline of about $100 over the week.

Rates for a trip on the BLNG2 route from Houston to Continental Europe dipped 1.8% to $33,600 per day for a vessel of the same size, while rates on a voyage from the US to Japan fell $2,000 to $51,400 per day for a 174,000-cbm ship.

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