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Spark’s data lead, Qasim Afghan, told LNG Prime on Friday that Spark30S (Atlantic) rates continue to drop for a seventh consecutive week, decreasing $21,750 to $26,250 per day – marking a $114,500 decline since the beginning of December.
“Spark25S (Pacific) rates decreased $3,000 to $41,250 per day – this is the first time since October 2025 that Pacific spot freight rates have priced at a premium to Atlantic rates for an extended period of time,” he said.
“Looser market fundamentals are reasserting influence on the spot side this week, with downward pressure growing. There is still a healthy handful of requirements to be worked in the Atlantic basin,” Fearnley LNG said in its weekly LNG report.
The Oslo-based advisory and brokering firm said that “rising tensions between Iran and the US, along with colder weather across Europe, have led to a narrower TTF/JKM spread and a firmly closed arbitrage for Atlantic cargoes to the East.”
“Uncertainty on scheduling in Egypt and the ongoing risk of bad weather in the Atlantic remain potential disrupters. Portfolios are confident enough to show the length that had almost disappeared through parts of Q4. Longer period discussions remain active, reflecting concerns from last winter that affect both owners and charterers,” it said.
Fearnley LNG noted that the “busier streak in the newbuilding space continues, with multiple orders being finalised.”
“Several owners are leaning towards more speculative plays in anticipation of large-scale projects, which could apply further upward pressure on prices,” Fearnley LNG said.
European prices jump
In Europe, the SparkNWE DES LNG increased compared to last week.
“The SparkNWE DES LNG front-month price for February increased $1.768 to $10.694/MMBtu, marking the highest front-month NWE DES LNG price in over three months. The basis to the TTF is assessed at -$0.580/MMBtu,” Afghan said.
“The US front-month arb (via COGH) closed out further this week, currently assessed at -$1.197/MMBtu and strongly pointing to Europe, driven by a recent fall in the JKM-TTF spread as the JKM fails to match the recent TTF rally,” Afghan said.
He said this marks the strongest pricing signal for prompt US cargoes to deliver to Europe since January 2025.
“Similarly, the Nigerian front-month arb (via COGH) has closed out further and continues to point to Europe, assessed at -$0.753/MMBtu,” Afghan said.
Data by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) shows that volumes in gas storages in the EU dipped from last week and were 51.87 percent full on January 14, 2026.
Gas storages were 57.18 percent full on January 7, 2026, and 64.15 percent full on January 14, 2025.
JKM
In Asia, JKM, the price for LNG cargoes delivered to Northeast Asia in February 2025 settled at $10.225/MMBtu on Thursday.
Last week, JKM for February settled at 9.565/MMBtu on Friday, January 9.
Front-month JKM rose to 9.610/MMBtu on Monday and reamined same on Tuesday. It dropped to 9.595/MMBtu on Wednesday.
