Asia spot liquefied natural gas held steady on Friday as tepid demand and high inventories during the Lunar New Year ​lull capped buying interest, ⁠though geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran offered some support.

The average LNG price ‌for April delivery into north-east Asia was estimated at $10.60 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), compared with $10.65/mmBtu in the previous week, ​industry sources said.

"Fundamentals remain loose across both basins, with geopolitics the primary upside catalyst in the near-term," said Go ​Katayama, principal ​insight analyst at analytics firm Kpler.

While Asia spot LNG was pressured by thin Lunar New Year liquidity and comfortable Northeast Asian inventories, prices have seen some support in the last ⁠few days due to a build-up of tensions between the U.S. and Iran, he added, while maintaining a slightly bearish outlook on front-month contracts.

"Above-normal temperatures across Northeast Asia will suppress heating demand, while the test restart of Japan's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa No.6 trims LNG burn," said Katayama, referring to the No. 6 reactor at the ​Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power ‌plant.

"Unless opportunistic buying ⁠emerges on price ⁠dips, front-month spot Asian LNG is likely to soften further."

In Europe, S&P Global Energy assessed its daily Northwest Europe ​LNG Marker (NWM) price benchmark for cargoes delivered in April on an ex-ship (DES) basis ‌at $10.265/mmBtu on February 19, a $0.99/mmBtu discount to the price at the ⁠TTF hub.

Argus assessed it at $10.44/mmBtu, while Spark Commodities assessed the March price at $10.371/mmBtu.

"Prices were buoyed by the geopolitical shifts globally and a continued strain on underground gas storages across Europe. Reports of expanded U.S. military presence in the Middle East and Iranian drills in the Strait of Hormuz sent wider commodity markets surging," said Aly Blakeway, manager of Atlantic LNG at S&P Global Energy.

Around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows through the strait, including LNG shipments from the world's second-largest exporter Qatar.

Market sentiment is also relatively bullish as it continues to price in Europe ending ‌winter on materially lower storages, added Blakeway.

"EU gas storage sits round 32% full, ⁠the lowest for this date since 2022. A lingering cold snap ​in Central and Eastern Europe has kept withdrawal rates elevated, while Norwegian maintenance and unplanned outages have limited pipeline flexibility."

In LNG freight, Atlantic rates rose to $33,500/day, while Pacific rates declined to $27,500/day, said Spark Commodities analyst Qasim ​Afghan.

The U.S. front-month ‌arbitrage to Northeast Asia via the Cape of Good Hope has ⁠narrowed further, but still continues to point U.S. ​prompt cargoes to Europe, he added.

(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Tasim Zahid)