Natural gas prices in Europe hit highest level since late 2022

Natural gas prices in Europe rose to their highest level since December 2022, amid concerns over reduced supplies of liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf and low storage levels, ahead of winter.

The price of natural gas in Europe reached the highest level since December 2022 on the eve of winter and following concerns about the decrease in the supply of liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf and low reserves.

According to Ambassador Arjan's report, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, the price of the basic Dutch natural gas contract known as "TTF" increased by 1.7% to 85.82 euros per megawatt hour on Tuesday.

ING Bank analysts stated that the market is facing the concern that a large part of the Northern Hemisphere winter will be spent in a situation where the supply of liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf is limited.

The low level of gas reserves in Europe and the need to refill the tanks are also factors in the price increase; Conditions that can intensify the competition between European and Asian buyers and lead to higher prices in winter.

According to data from the European Gas Infrastructure industry group, EU gas reservoirs are now about 73% complete; This figure is lower than the five-year average in the same period, i.e. 89%.