SINGAPORE/LONDON- Asia liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot prices jumped 16% on Wednesday to $26.20 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), according to price agency S&P Global Platts, after Russia cut gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.

Platts' Japan-Korea-Marker (JKM), which is widely used as a spot benchmark in the region, was at $22.599 per mmBtu on Tuesday.

On Wednesay, Russia's Gazprom halted gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria over their failure to pay in roubles, cranking up an economic war with Europe in response to Western sanctions imposed for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Fears that more countries could be hit, in particular Germany, Europe's industrial powerhouse which relied on Russia for more than 50% of its gas imports in 2021, sent gas prices soaring and added to jitters about the global economic impact of the war.

Analysts said they expected Poland to ramp up LNG imports from across Europe, driving prices higher.

The Dutch TTF gas price for May, the European benchmark, rose to around $36.60/mmBtu in earlier trade.

European gas prices have maintained a premium over Asian spot LNG prices for some time to attract more LNG cargoes to the region.

Last week, Reuters estimates showed the average LNG price for June delivery into north-east Asia at $25.40 per mmBtu.

(Reporting by Florence Tan and Nina Chestney Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter)