LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Asian spot liquefied natural

gas (LNG) prices were steady this week, holding near a six-month

peak on higher gas-for-power demand due to heat wave in India

and East Asia and expected above-normal temperatures for China

in mid-June.

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

was at $12.00 per million British thermal units

(mmBtu), unchanged from the previous week and close to its

highest levels since mid-December, industry sources estimated.

"We now see some sort of LNG pull from Europe as Asian

demand remains robust. Fortunately, storage levels in Europe are

still high, so there is no immediate need for large imports,"

said Siamak Adibi, principal consultant at energy consultancy

FGE.

Asian markets were also supported initially by European gas

supply concerns, but have largely retained their gains as

additional interest has emerged from buyers, especially in Japan

and South Korea, said Samuel Good, head of LNG pricing at

commodity pricing agency Argus.

The Japan Meteorological Agency foresees a 50.6% probability

for an above-normal temperature occurrence between June and

August, with the potential to drive up gas-for-power demand,

while South Korea has a 50% probability for above-average

temperatures between June 3 and June 23, Rystad Energy data

showed.

More Atlantic LNG was shipped to Asia, and the open

inter-basin arbitrage suggests a firm incentive for this to

continue, Good said.

In Europe, gas prices rose by 11.4% on Monday, hitting a

six-month high, on concerns over Norwegian supply due to

unplanned outage at Gassco-operated Nyhamna processing plant.

S&P Global Commodity Insights assessed its daily North West

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

July on an ex-ship (DES) basis at $10.547/mmBtu on June 6, a

$0.75/mmBtu discount to the July gas price at the Dutch TTF hub.

Argus assessed the July delivery price at $10.450/mmBtu,

while Spark Commodities assessed it at $10.575/mmBtu.

On June 3, the NWM price was assessed at $11.397/mmBtu, the

highest since Dec. 8, S&P data showed.

This coincided with a rise in U.S. prices as high

temperatures in the Southwest boost gas-for-power demand despite

a temporary dip in gas production.

"Surging gas prices across markets last Monday tell a story

of vulnerability worldwide. ... and highlight how sensitive

interconnected gas balances can be," said Rystad analyst

Christoph Halser.

FGE's Adibi said while there is strong demand in Asia and

the Middle East, LNG supply is lagging.

"When we look at production performances, the results seem

concerning. The ongoing issues in Freeport, the supply shortage

in Egypt, (Russian) Arctic 2 shipping issues and inability to

load cargoes, and unplanned outages elsewhere are really

troubling," he said.

LNG freight rates in the Atlantic saw the third consecutive

week of significant increases, rising to $57,000/day on Friday.

The Pacific rates remained steady at $45,250/day, said Spark

Commodities analyst Qasim Afghan.

(Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)