Europe gas prices edge up on low storage, Norwegian outages
UNG•Dutch and British front-month gas prices rose as European storage was 73.61% full and Norwegian outages curbed supply. The Dutch contract gained €1.141 to €82.575 per MWh, while the British contract rose 2.87 pence to 205.45 pence per therm.
1. Prices rise on supply concerns
Dutch and British gas prices edged up on Monday as low European storage and Norwegian outages and maintenance supported prices already elevated by the Middle East conflict. The Dutch front-month contract rose €1.141 to €82.575 per megawatt-hour, while the British front-month contract gained 2.87 pence to 205.45 pence per therm.
2. Storage and outages
European gas storage sites were 73.61% full, lower than usual for this time of year. Gassco said unplanned maintenance at the Gullfaks gas field would curb supply by 5 million cubic metres on Monday, while an outage at the Karsto processing plant had cut supply by 11 million cubic metres per day. Further Norwegian outages could potentially lower exports by around 15 million cubic metres per day later this week if extended.
3. LNG transit remains reduced
Reduced transit through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries roughly a fifth of the world's liquefied natural gas, has kept LNG flows below pre-war levels. Analysts at Mind Energy said the Dutch benchmark was around four-year highs and that Middle East supply remained below average.
