European Gas Jumps to €95.7 per Megawatt-Hour as Winter Approaches
The Dutch TTF gas price jumped to €95.73 per megawatt-hour, its highest level since 2022, with European gas storage filled to 74.62% compared to an average of 86%.
European natural gas prices jumped 2% at the opening of trading in Amsterdam on Monday, extending weekly gains of 7%, as the stock withdrawal season begins with no sign of Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows returning.
The front-month contract price at the Dutch TTF hub, the main benchmark for gas trading in Europe, rose 2.1% to $107.40, or €95.73 per megawatt-hour, its highest level since 2022, equivalent to more than $30 per million British thermal units (MMBtu).
The price reached €97.19 before pulling back to €96.29 on Tuesday, according to Oilprice and Investing.com. European Union gas storage fullness reached 74.62% on October 25, compared to a five-year average of nearly 86% at this time of year—a historically low level as the heating season approaches.
Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, stated that European gas storage stands at around 845 TWh, about 100 TWh lower than its level at this time last year—a deficit equivalent to the energy carried by more than 80 large LNG tankers. Analysts pointed to an outage at the Oseberg field with a capacity of 12.7 million cubic meters per day, and a nearly 80% reduction in LNG supplies from the Middle East to Europe due to Hormuz.
What Do These Terms Mean?
TTF: A virtual trading hub for natural gas in the Netherlands, whose price serves as a benchmark for gas prices in Europe.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG): Gas cooled to minus 162 degrees Celsius to turn into liquid, making it easier to transport via ships to importing countries.
Megawatt-hour (MWh): A unit of energy measurement used in pricing gas and electricity, equivalent to operating a device with a capacity of one megawatt for one hour.
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