LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Asian spot liquefied natural

gas (LNG) prices declined this week due to weak demand and as

markets awaited further clarity on U.S. Russian energy sanctions

or secondary tariffs.

The average LNG price for September delivery into north-east

Asia was at $11.90 per million British thermal units

(mmBtu), down from $12.10/mmBtu last week, industry sources

estimated.

Spot global gas prices have been relatively rangebound since

the start of summer gas season in April, with a brief spike

during the Iran strikes in June, said Alex Froley, senior LNG

analyst at ICIS, adding that he expected this trend to continue

during the remaining months of the summer season.

"The market will be paying close attention to the latest

news on tariffs and peace talks between Russia, the U.S. and

Ukraine. Increased tariffs on countries like India could slow

global trade, cutting energy demand. There's also the

possibility of further targeted energy sanctions that could

affect oil and gas demand more directly," he said.

President Trump's imposition of an additional 25% tariff on

India for its purchases of Russian oil came with a 21-day delay,

resulting in a sharp sell-off in energy markets, including gas,

said Rabobank energy strategist Florence Schmit.

"While gas and LNG supplies are not at risk under the

current sanctions and tariff threats, uncertainty about whether

gas might be included in the future will keep markets on edge.

Until then, gas markets are experiencing some downtime thanks to

ample supply," she added.

In South Korea, spot demand has been weak, with many

gas-fired power plants not able to compete on price with

coal-fired generation, whereas strong hydro generation following

heavy rains and temperatures in line with seasonal averages in

southern China has weighed on gas-fired generation, said Martin

Senior, head of LNG pricing at Argus.

In Europe, prices remained relatively stable as Friday marks

the deadline for Russia to respond to the U.S. ceasefire

ultimatum, with secondary oil tariffs on the table.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald

Trump will meet in the coming days.

"Looking ahead, anticipated Norwegian maintenance later this

month, coupled with the need for further injections into

Europe's underground storage, could provide upward price support

in the second half of August," said Aly Blakeway, manager of

Atlantic LNG at S&P Global Commodity Insights.

S&P Global Commodity Insights assessed its daily North West

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

September on an ex-ship (DES) basis at $10.793/mmBtu on August

7, a $0.475 /mmBtu discount to the September futures price at

the TTF hub.

Argus assessed the price at $10.825/mmBtu, while Spark

Commodities assessed it at $10.764/mmBtu.

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

Hope is now only marginally incentivising U.S. cargos to deliver

to Europe, while he arbitrage via Panama is pointing to Asia,

said Spark Commodities analyst Qasim Afghan.

Global LNG freight rates remained relatively stable, with

the Atlantic rates assessed at $35,750/day and Pacific rates at

$33,000/day, Afghan added.