LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - Asian spot liquefied

natural gas (LNG) prices rose slightly this week but remained

close to a three-month low amid ample supply and mild weather

forecasts.

The average LNG price for May delivery into north-east Asia

was at $13.60 per million British thermal units

(mmBtu), up from $13.40/mmBtu last week, industry sources

estimated.

"It's currently a reactionary market: hard to forecast what

will happen next given an environment of new tariffs, sanctions

and potential new supply volume becoming operational," said Toby

Copson, chairman at Davenport Energy Partners.

"Conversely, we're coming in to summer procurement months so

that may push spot demand up and buoy current prices," he added.

Meanwhile, Asian demand for contracted LNG, such as from

Qatar, is strong with oil-linked contracts trending at a

discount to spot prices, said Laura Page, manager of gas and LNG

insight at Kpler.

"In particular, Qatari deliveries to Taiwan have been above

the five-year average in Q1 while deliveries to China are

picking up in March, likely displacing U.S. LNG which has been

subject to a 15% tariff since February 10," she added.

In India, a forecast heatwave could spur some LNG demand for

cooling despite LNG being too expensive for many Indian

importers at present, said Martin Senior, Argus head of LNG

pricing.

Asian prices are expected to remain stable next week,

supported by steady European gas movements, mild weather

forecasts, ample supply projections, and rising expectations of

restocking needs, said Ronald Pinto, LNG and gas analyst at data

analytics firm Kpler.

In Europe, above-average temperatures and a partial recovery

of wind generation are expected to keep prices range-bound next

week but could rise later in March as temperatures drop below

seasonal averages, Pinto added.

European storage inventories are around 34% full as the

market readies to switch from withdrawal to injection mode over

the coming months.

"Storage didn't come close to running out but filling it

will require Europe to continue competing strongly against Asia

for LNG across the summer, likely pricing some smaller new

importers out of the market," said Alex Froley, senior LNG

analyst at ICIS.

"But as LNG Canada and the next six trains at Corpus Christi

stage III ramp-up over the course of the summer this should add

quite a lot of extra LNG into the market," he added.

S&P Global Commodity Insights assessed its daily North West

Europe LNG Marker (NWM) price benchmark for cargoes delivered in

May on an ex-ship (DES) basis at $12.916/mmBtu on March 20, a

$0.70/mmBtu discount to the May gas price at the Dutch TTF hub.

Argus assessed the price for May delivery at $13.15/mmBtu,

while Spark Commodities assessed the April price at

$12.988/mmBtu.

The U.S. arbitrage to north-east Asia via the Cape of Good

Hope remained steady, incentivising U.S. cargoes to deliver to

Europe, said Spark Commodities analyst Qasim Afghan.

In the LNG freight market, Atlantic rates rose this week to

$31,000/day on Friday, the highest level this year so far, while

Pacific rates rose to $27,250/day, Afghan added.