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Spark’s data lead, Qasim Afghan, told LNG Prime on Friday that Spark25S (Pacific) rates have followed suit, decreasing $62,500 per day to $156,750 per day.
Last week, Atlantic LNG shipping rates rose by $221,500 to $264,250 per day as the LNG and shipping markets experiencied “seismic shocks” in the wake of military action across the Middle East.
Atlantic LNG shipping rates dropped to $210,000 per day on Tuesday this week, following reports that QatarEnergy offered 10 LNG carriers for relet.
“The swings seen on crude pricing after fresh assaults on Gulf region assets over the weekend have added another layer of uncertainty for LNG trading,” Fearnley LNG said in its weekly LNG report.
The Oslo-based advisory and brokering firm said that this, along with many vessels marketed for sublet, has led to a “cautious mood with more bearish undertones.”
“Nevertheless, after a softening from the initial reactive spike we saw last week, rates appear to have held with prompt availabilities commanding strong charter rates in both basins,” Fearnley LNG said.
“There is a sense of charterers holding off for now as they hope for more clarity for laycans further out in the fixing window. However, every day brings fresh turmoil and the prospect of resumed safe passage through the Straits of Hormuz looks increasingly unlikely,” it said.
“While the early days of the attack saw charterers typically scrambling to charter in, reshuffle or sell FOB, the more recent days have been shaped by caution due to the underlying length in the market and the increasing number of availabilities shown,” the firm said.
European prices down
In Europe, the SparkNWE DES LNG dropped compared to last week.
“The SparkNWE DES LNG price, assessed as a basis to the TTF, widened further to TTF – $0.355 for NW-Europe front-month delivery, indicating increased demand for delivery slots into NW-Europe. The outright NWE DES LNG price is priced at $16.823/MMBtu,” Afghan said.
He said that “TTF prices for May 2026 are down $1.069 (-6 percent) since last Friday’s close, now priced at $16.546/MMBtu.”
“In that same period, the JKM-TTF regional price spread decreased -1.025 to +$1.475/MMBtu in favour of Asia,” Afghan said.
“Drops in the JKM-TTF premium have largely been counteracted by falling freight rates, resulting in the US front-month arb (via COGH) remaining relatively steady week-on-week and continuing to point to Europe at -$0.586/MMBtu. The Nigerian front-month arb, despite closing out and pointing to Europe on Wednesday, has now opened again to Asia and is priced at +$0.256/MMBtu,” he said.
Data by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) shows that volumes in gas storages in the EU dropped from last week and were 29.18 percent full on March 11, 2026.
Gas storages were 29.59 percent full on March 4, 2026, and 36.16 percent full on March 11, 2025.
JKM
In Asia, JKM, the price for LNG cargoes delivered to Northeast Asia in April 2026 settled at $16.090/MMBtu on Thursday.
Last week, JKM for April settled at 15.710/MMBtu on Friday, March 6.
Front-month JKM rose to 16.230/MMBtu on Monday. It dropped to 15.920/MMBtu on Tuesday and rose to 15.980/MMBtu on Wednesday.
Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) said in its report earlier this week that JKM for last week rose to “low-$20s/MMBtu on March 6 from high-$10s/MMBtu the previous weekend.”
“JKM surged to low-$15s/MMBtu on March 2 amid rising supply concerns following escalating tensions in the Middle East after Israeli and US. attacks on Iran starting on February 28. On March 3, the price jumped by more than $10 to mid-$20s/MMBtu after an air strike on Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial area forced the shutdown of LNG export facilities, marking the highest level in more than three years,” JOGMEC said.
“Prices then declined from March 4 onward as market sentiment eased following announcements of US naval escorts for tankers and the potential provision of reinsurance by the US government, as well as expectations of increased inflows of US LNG cargoes into the Asian market. JKM eventually fell back to low-$20s/MMBtu on March 6,” JOGMEC said.