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Spark’s data lead, Qasim Afghan, told LNG Prime on Friday that Spark30S (Atlantic) LNG freight rates decreased by $16,750 to $130,000 per day.
Similarly, Spark25S (Pacific) rates dropped by $1,750 to $87,500 per day.
“December has started in a slightly softer mood in the Atlantic, as the recent flurry of relatively prompt fixtures has relaxed into requirements a little further out into January and thus towards some lower rates. However, interestingly, the decline in levels hasn’t been as rapid or as sharp as some may have expected,” Fearnley LNG said in its weekly LNG report.
The Oslo-based advisory and brokering firm said that although seasonal spikes have historically lasted little more than four weeks, whilst it’s natural to expect a downturn before too long, the recent rise has not come on the back of a cold snap or a regional demand swing.
“The main driver has been increased production, and this is not likely to reverse anytime soon, instead the market will be seeing the benefits of sharper optimisations and the delivery of more newbuildings to help rebalance the picture,” Fearnley LNG said.
“Meanwhile, the Pacific basin remains a little quiet with very few requirements or fixtures and rates holding firm. Instead, we look to the Middle East again as the region has returned to the foreground with a number of spot requirements and FOB cargo sales, and therefore firming rates,” it said.
“If it feels a little quiet just look left or right or give it a day or two, after all, it’s still a very busy market out there,” Fearnley LNG said.
European prices drop
In Europe, the SparkNWE DES LNG decreased compared to last week.
“The SparkNWE DES LNG front-month price for January is assessed at $8.827/MMBtu this week, the lowest front-month DES LNG price for NW-Europe since April 2024. The basis to the TTF is assessed at -$0.44/MMBtu,” Afghan said.
“The US front-month arb (via COGH) has narrowed significantly week-on-week, currently pricing in at -$0.088/MMBtu and now only marginally pointing towards Europe,” Afghan said.
“The US front-month arb (via Panama) is now more strongly pointing to Asia, pricing in at $0.325/MMBtu,” he said.
Data by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) shows that volumes in gas storages in the EU dipped from last week and were 73.85 percent full on December 3, 2025.
Gas storages were 77.21 percent full on November 26, 2025, and 84.15 percent full on December 3, 2024.
JKM
In Asia, JKM, the price for LNG cargoes delivered to Northeast Asia in January 2025 settled at $10.900/MMBtu on Thursday.
Last week, JKM for January settled at 11.090/MMBtu on Friday, November 28.
Front-month JKM dropped to 11.065/MMBtu on Monday, 11.000/MMBtu on Tuesday, and 10.985/MMBtu on Wednesday.
State-run Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (Jogmec) said in a report earlier this week that JKM for last week “fell to high-$10s/MMBtu on November 28 from mid-$11s/MMBtu the previous weekend.”
“JKM remained on a downward trend early in the week due to end-users in Northeast Asia continuing to hold ample inventories amid weak demand. Toward the end of the week, prices rebounded modestly on uncertainty surrounding Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations and the potential for stronger winter demand. Overall, however, JKM largely hovered in high-$10s/MMBtu throughout the week,” Jogmec said.