Spark’s data lead, Qasim Afghan, told LNG Prime on Friday that Spark30S (Atlantic) rates rose $2,000 to $103,750 per day this week.
On the other hand, Spark25S (Pacific) rates have dropped $500 to $71,250 per day, he said.
Vessel availability is still sufficient
“The market appears to have entered a more stable, albeit still fragile, phase. Volatility in commodity prices has subsided somewhat after weeks of wild swings around news (and non-news) about the Straits of Hormuz. Paper markets have become increasingly resistant to new developments, with the physical market already pricing in realities,” Fearnley LNG said in its weekly LNG report on Thursday.
“In the Atlantic basin, activity remains subdued, with several participants describing the market as quiet and lacking liquidity. Underlying concerns about European storage and forward balances persist, providing some support to sentiment,” the Oslo-based advisory and brokering firm said.
According to Fearnley LNG, vessel availability is still sufficient but increasingly fragmented, and there is a growing expectation that tonnage could tighten further toward the end of May.
“East of Suez, buyers remain largely absent, watching softer prices down the curve and prompt supply that is well covered. Qalhat and Bintulu loadings continue to dominate the limited liquidity in the East, but with requirements developing in Australia, Canada, and Southeast Asia, current availability is expected to be stretched in the coming weeks,” Fearnley LNG said.
“Looking ahead, much will depend on how regional imports respond to current pricing dynamics, such as whether Asia will draw more volumes out of the Atlantic and when Europe will begin refilling storage,” Fearnley LNG said.
Pricing signals for prompt US cargoes switching
In Europe, the SparkNWE DES LNG rose compared to last week.
“The SparkNWE front-month DES LNG price for May delivery is assessed at TTF-$0.390. The outright NWE DES LNG price is now at $14.882/MMBtu, having risen $1.859 since Friday,” Afghan said.
“The US prompt (M+1) arb to Asia via COGH, having pointed to Europe for much of this week, is now once again pointing to Asia at +$0.118/MMBtu. This marks the 5th time this month that pricing signals for prompt US cargoes have switched to/from Europe & Asia – the most volatile month for US LNG prompt arb switches since May 2022,” he said.
Afghan added that “the US prompt arb via Panama remains open and firmly pointing to Asia for the 8th week running, now priced at +$0.809/MMBtu.”
Data by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) shows that volumes in gas storages in the EU rose from last week and were 30.82 percent full on April 23, 2026.
Gas storages were 29.56 percent full on April 16, 2026, and 37.54 percent full on April 23, 2025.
JKM
In Asia, JKM, the price for LNG cargoes delivered to Northeast Asia in June 2026 settled at $16.390/MMBtu on Thursday.
Last week, JKM for June settled at 15/MMBtu on Friday, April 17.
Front-month JKM rose to 15.235/MMBtu on Monday, 15.810/MMBtu on Tuesday, and 16.125/MMBtu on Wednesday.
