EU Natural Gas Prices Hold Near Multi-Year Highs

European natural gas prices hovered near €87 per megawatt-hour on Wednesday, close to their highest level since December 2022, amid the Middle East supply squeeze and below-average storage levels. Although countries including the US, Canada, and Nigeria have increased LNG exports, the loss of Gulf LNG supplies has intensified competition for spot cargoes, limiting availability for Europe and making it harder for the region to rebuild inventories. Europe’s gas storage facilities are 73.94% full, still below historical averages. Forecasts of colder-than-usual weather, particularly in Central Europe, could drive up heating demand and prompt earlier withdrawals from storage. Meanwhile, unplanned outages at Norwegian gas infrastructure have also reduced pipeline export capacity to Europe.