European Natural Gas Prices Rise from 1-Month Low
European natural gas prices rose above €85/MWh, up from a one-month low of €82.5 hit on November 9, as concerns over tight winter supplies outweighed optimism about a potential resolution to the US-Iran conflict. Europe’s already low storage levels are declining rapidly amid colder weather, lower wind generation and increased heating demand. Net withdrawals last week rose nearly sixfold from the previous week, while EU storage stood below 73%, well under the five-year seasonal average of 89%; Germany’s reserves were below 60%. Supply pressures have been compounded by disruptions to Middle Eastern LNG exports, constrained Norwegian pipeline flows due to outages and intensifying competition from Asian buyers. However, hopes for de-escalation have improved after US President Donald Trump signaled that further strikes on Iran might not be necessary. Meanwhile, Qatar’s LNG loadings picked up in recent weeks, suggesting efforts to restore exports despite disruption around the Strait.
European natural gas prices rose above €85/MWh, up from a one-month low of €82.5 hit on November 9, as concerns over tight winter supplies outweighed optimism about a potential resolution to the US-Iran conflict. Europe’s already low storage levels are declining rapidly amid colder weather, lower wind generation and increased heating demand. Net withdrawals last week rose nearly sixfold from the previous week, while EU storage stood below 73%, well under the five-year seasonal average of 89%; Germany’s reserves were below 60%.
Supply pressures have been compounded by disruptions to Middle Eastern LNG exports, constrained Norwegian pipeline flows due to outages and intensifying competition from Asian buyers. However, hopes for de-escalation have improved after US President Donald Trump signaled that further strikes on Iran might not be necessary. Meanwhile, Qatar’s LNG loadings picked up in recent weeks, suggesting efforts to restore exports despite disruption around the Strait.