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Spark’s data lead, Qasim Afghan, told LNG Prime on Friday that Spark30S (Atlantic) LNG freight rates rose to new year-to-date highs this week, increasing by $48,000 to $130,750 per day – the highest Atlantic rate since December 2023, and the largest week-on-week increase since October 2022.
In addition, Spark25S (Pacific) rates rose by $16,750 to $78,750 per day, the highest Pacific rates since August 2024, according to Afghan.
“Atlantic spot charter rates climbed sharply as a handful of prompt requirements met very limited tonnage,” Fearnley LNG said in its weekly LNG report.
The Oslo-based advisory and brokering firm said that “those able to release vessels captured substantial premiums over last done, with several fixtures clearing six-figure territory.”
“The strength in the prompt market has also been reflected in forward pricing, where end-December availability appears to be in almost as much demand as more prompt tonnage,” Fearnley LNG said.
“In the Pacific, spot charter rates also recorded new year-to-date highs, supported by relatively tight prompt availability. However, charterers with more forward requirements are beginning to pause, questioning the sustainability of the recent upswing amid a healthy slate of expected near-term redeliveries,” Fearnley LNG said.
European prices up
In Europe, the SparkNWE DES LNG increased compared to last week.
“The SparkNWE DES LNG front-month price for December rose by $0.195 to $10.060/MMBtu this week, whilst the basis to the TTF narrowed by $0.06 this week, assessed at -$0.465/MMBtu,” Afghan said.
“Despite this week’s freight rally, recent increases in the JKM-TTF spread has meant that the US front-month arb (via the Cape) has remained only marginally closed and pointing to Europe, with the latest arb price assessment at -$0.062/MMBtu,” Afghan said.
“The US front-month arb via Panama is now strongly open to Asia, pricing in at $0.507/MMBtu,” he said.
Data by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) shows that volumes in gas storages in the EU dropped from last week and were 80.71 percent full on November 19, 2025.
Gas storages were 82.23 percent full on November 12, 2025, and 89.86 percent full on November 19, 2024.
JKM
In Asia, JKM, the price for LNG cargoes delivered to Northeast Asia in January 2025 settled at $11.705/MMBtu on Thursday.
Last week, JKM for December settled at 11.127/MMBtu on Friday, November 14.
Front-month JKM rose to 11.400/MMBtu on Monday, 11.530/MMBtu on Tuesday, and 11.540/MMBtu on Wednesday.
Acitvity reaches record
Activity in the Platts Market on Close assessment process for Asia’s LNG market reached a record high during the December JKM pricing period (October 16–November 14), as participants adjusted positions ahead of peak winter demand, according to a report by Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.
A total of 750 market entries were reported, comprising 432 offers, 284 bids and 34 trades, for deliveries spanning the second half of November through January 2026 and involving 23 participating entities, Platts cited MOC data.
This marked a 20 percent month-on-month increase and a 179.85 percent year-on-year rise, surpassing the previous record of 718 entries in the October pricing window.
As Northeast Asia entered the heating season, daily MOC activity averaged 35 entries, peaking at a record 50 on November 11. Most activity centered on deliveries into Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China, though interest extended to Southeast Asia, including 10 bids for Thailand, Platts said.
The report said that among the 34 physical trades, totaling roughly 2.21 million mt of LNG, Shell emerged as the most active buyer with 13 cargoes, followed by Trafigura with eight and PetroChina with six. BP purchased three cargoes, while Glencore, Mercuria, RWE, and Vitol each bought one.
On the sell side, QatarEnergy Trading led with 17 cargoes, followed by PetroChina with six, Platts said. Mercuria and RWE each sold two, while Beijing Gas, BP, EnBW, Freepoint Commodities, Gunvor, Marubeni, and SEFE each sold one cargo, Platts cited MOC data.