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By Emily Chow SINGAPORE, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices fell this week to its lowest in over a year on weak demand and ample supply. The average LNG price for November delivery into north-east Asia was $10.60 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down from $11.20/mmBtu last week, industry sources estimated. This is also its lowest levels since May 2024. "Demand signals across Northeast Asia remain largely muted as countries are well stocked," said Kesher Sumeet, analyst at Energy Aspects, adding this and strengthening global LNG exports are reducing competition for supply with Europe. While extended holidays in China and South Korea are causing demand slowdowns, low prices have stimulated some price sensitive demand in India and Thailand this week, said Martin Senior, Argus head of LNG pricing. PetroVietnam Gas, Indian Oil Corp and Thailand's Gulf Energy are seeking spot cargoes for deliveries through to mid-November in tenders closing on October 3. In Europe, S&P Global Commodity Insights assessed its daily Northwest Europe LNG Marker price benchmark for cargoes delivered in November on an ex-ship basis at $10.099/mmBtu on October 2, a $0.63/mmBtu discount to the November price at the Dutch TTF hub. Argus assessed the price at $10.14/mmBtu, while Spark Commodities assessed it at $10.183/mmBtu. "Continued weakness in Asian LNG demand has moved the JKM-TTF spread to a TTF premium over the last days, which is only being amplified by expectations of a continued additions of LNG volumes in the new year," said Florence Schmit, energy strategist at Rabobank London. Flows from the U.S. and Russia's sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project have increased market supply, Schmit added. For the week ahead, Kpler is bearish for the TTF front-month contract, as Norway and Algeria pipeline supply is set to rise as maintenance ends, while strong wind output and rising temperatures should limit gas use on the demand side, supporting storage injections, said analyst Ronald Pinto. Norway's gas operator Gassco said it expects high gas deliveries to Europe during winter, even with a period of temporarily reduced capacity at the Kollsnes processing plant. For the week ending September 26, hedge funds cut their bets on higher TTF gas prices, reducing their net position by selling more and buying less, reflecting weaker market fundamentals in Europe, said independent gas and LNG analyst Seb Kennedy. In contrast, commercial players including utilities and producers increased their net long position to the highest since February 2024 to reduce risk and due to discretionary trades, he added. Meanwhile, the U.S. front month arbitrage to Northeast Asia via the Cape of Good Hope is still narrowly incentivising U.S. cargoes to deliver to Europe, said Spark Commodities analyst Max Glen-Doepel. In LNG freight, Atlantic rates rose to $22,750/day on Friday, while Pacific rates eased to $24,500/day, he added. (Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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Oct 3 (Reuters) – Newcastle United full back Tino Livramento will be sidelined for eight weeks after injuring knee ligaments against Arsenal last weekend but the experienced Kieran Trippier will be an able deputy in his absence, manager Eddie Howe said on Friday. Livramento was taken off on a stretcher after landing awkwardly in an aerial duel in the 2-1 loss on Sunday but Howe said the 22-year-old's diagnosis brought relief rather than despair as his return timeline was better than expected. "He went to see a specialist a couple of days ago as the scan initially looked better than we thought it was," Howe told reporters ahead of Sunday's home game against Nottingham Forest. "He has confirmed it is looking like an eight-week injury, which is a blow given our schedule, but it is looking better than what we initially feared," Howe added. INJURY BLOW AMID HECTIC SCHEDULE Howe said Newcastle would turn to 35-year-old Trippier to fill in for the England international amid a busy schedule with the club involved in three competitions. "That is the beauty of the squad and the strength of the squad we have, which will make a difference for us. We have real depth in the strength of the defensive areas," Howe added. "Losing Tino is a big blow for us with his athleticism and quality, but I have spoken many times about the role Kieran plays and his experience and quality he brings to the squad." Meanwhile, Sky Sports reported tat the club's new striker Yoane Wissa, who was sidelined for four weeks after suffering a knee injury on international duty with DR Congo last month, will likely return only in November. Newcastle have work to do in the Premier League, where they are 15th with one victory in six games. "We've got a few clicks to go but I will always be saying that regardless of how well we are playing," Howe said. "We are finding our rhythm, we are a new team and any change takes time to absorb but I am confident we can continue to get better." HOWE 100% COMMITTED TO NEWCASTLE Howe also shot down reports linking him to the Manchester United job with their coach Ruben Amorim under pressure. "My commitment is that I am all in. I am 100% here and always have been," he said. "My family are still here and we are fighting every day to make a success of what we are doing. The season ahead could be a wonderful thing and that is what I want to focus on." Another manager facing fan fury is Forest's Ange Postecoglou, with Sunday's opponents yet to win since the Australian took charge at the City Ground last month, and Howe said that was the 'fragility' of the job. "No amount of success previously can take you out of that firing line," Howe said. "We are all subjected to the same forces and dictated to by results. In any moment, good or bad, you have to be yourself and that is what Ange is." (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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(Adds TikTok comments in paragraph 5) JAKARTA, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Indonesia has suspended TikTok's registration to provide electronic systems after it failed to hand over all data relating to the use of its live stream feature, a government official said on Friday. The suspension could in theory prevent access to TikTok, which has more than 100 million accounts based in Indonesia. Reuters, however, could access its application as normal on Friday. The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for clarification. Alexander Sabar, an official at Indonesia's communications and digital ministry, said in a statement some accounts with ties to online gambling activities used TikTok's live stream feature during national protests. Protests rocked the world's third-largest democracy over exorbitant lawmaker allowances and police brutality from late August to September. TikTok temporarily suspended its live feature during the protests, saying this was intended to "keep TikTok a safe and civil space". A TikTok spokesperson said on Friday the company respects the laws in the markets it operates in, adding it is working on the issue with the digital ministry. Sabar said the government had asked the company for its traffic, streaming and monetisation data. The company, owned by China's ByteDance, did not provide complete data, citing its internal procedures, Sabar said without giving further detail. "So the communications and digital ministry deemed TikTok to have violated its obligations as a private electronic provider," and suspended its registration, he said. The regulation regarding the list says every company that has signed up to Indonesia's licensing rules must hand over its data to the government for the purpose of supervision or risk being blocked. (Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Lincoln Feast. and Barbara Lewis)

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