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Spark’s data lead, Qasim Afghan, told LNG Prime on Friday that Spark30S (Atlantic) rates dipped below $100,000 per day for the first time in a month, dropping $11,500 week-on-week to $93,000 per day.
Afghan said Spark25S (Pacific) rates remain relatively steady, dropping $1,250 to $80,750 per day.
Deal reached
The US and Iran reached a preliminary agreement this week to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“After weeks of uncertainty in the Middle East, an agreement has reportedly been reached. Key elements should allow the resumption of merchant traffic through the Strait of Hormuz without tolls or hindrance; however, the details are sorely lacking at this stage,” Fearnley LNG said in its weekly LNG report on Thursday.
“This is a welcome development and markets have reacted accordingly: prices are already lower and the inter-basin arbitrage has been squeezed. How this will shape the LNG shipping market in the weeks and months ahead remains to be seen, but we may expect some temporary disruptions and tightening east of Suez as scheduling is reworked to accommodate additional volume,” the Oslo-based advisory and brokering firm said.
According to Fearnley LNG, further into winter, competition between Europe and Asia for US volume “should ease, leading to lower peak pricing and a softer market than might otherwise have occurred.”
“Yet, until more concrete steps are taken, major changes to shipping strategies are unlikely,” Fearnley LNG said.
“Overall, markets in all basins have remained broadly steady. Several multimonth requirements are being worked and should provide useful data points for winter tonnage, although views diverge—some price in weak freight fundamentals while others expect a strong trading environment—so plans may be revisited in the days ahead,” Fearnley LNG added.
Qatari LNG cargo
According to Kpler, a QatarEnergy LNG carrier has returned to Ras Laffan and loaded more than 209,000 cbm of LNG, becoming the first known ballast vessel chartered by the firm to re-enter the Gulf for reloading since the conflict disrupted commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The vessel in question is the 216,200-cbm Al Hamla.
“The transit is being closely watched by traders and shipowners as an early indicator of improving confidence in the region’s most critical energy corridor,” Kpler said.
“The development follows signs of fleet repositioning by QatarEnergy and growing expectations that shipping movements through Hormuz could continue to normalize,” it said.
European prices dip
In Europe, the SparkNWE DES LNG rose dropped compared to last week.
“The SparkNWE front-month DES LNG price for July delivery has widened to TTF-$0.180, indicating increased demand for European delivery slots. The outright NWE DES LNG price is now at $13.461/MMBtu, decreasing $3.227 – the largest week-on-week drop in front-month NWE prices since Jan 2023,” Afghan said.
“Prompt US LNG cargo prices have also seen the largest week-on-week drop since Jan 2023, with the SparkUSG-Sabine FOB marker decreasing $3.202 (-21 percent) and priced at $12.205/MMBtu ($47.8M/cargo) as of yesterday’s close. US prompt cargoes are still valued $2.721 (+29 percent) higher than pre-war levels,” he said.
Moreover, Afghan said that “the US prompt (M+1) arb (via COGH) has closed out and is now firmly pointing to Europe, priced at -$0.272/MMBtu, as JKM-TTF spreads narrowed significantly in light of the US-Iran peace deal announcement.”
“The US M+1 arb via Panama remains open and firmly pointing to Asia, now priced at +$0.530/MMBtu,” Afghan said.
Data by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) shows that volumes in gas storages in the EU rose from the previous week.
Gas storages were 45.56 percent full on June 18, 2026. The storages were 43.36 percent full on June 11, 2026, while the storages were 54.38 percent full on June 18, 2025.
JKM
In Asia, JKM, the price for LNG cargoes delivered to Northeast Asia in August 2026 settled at $15.315/MMBtu on Thursday.
Last week, JKM for July settled at 18.855/MMBtu on Friday, June 12.
Front-month JKM dropped to 18.783/MMBtu on Monday, 15.940/MMBtu on Tuesday, and 15.820/MMBtu on Wednesday.