Europe Gas Prices Steady as Supply Risks, Norwegian Outage Lend Support
XLE•Carbon market also eased
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract fell by €0.92 to €84.96 a metric ton.
Prices held in a narrow range
Dutch and British gas prices traded in a narrow range on Thursday morning, with Middle East disruptions, Europe’s race to fill inventories and Norwegian maintenance continuing to support prices.
The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub was up €0.42 at €78.42 per megawatt hour (MWh), or around $26.37/mmBtu, by 0845 GMT, ICE data showed.
The British front-month contract edged up 1.30 pence at 194.74 pence per therm.
Middle East tensions keep LNG supply tight
U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped an end to the war against Iran was near, as the conflict, in its seventh month, escalated with Saudi aircraft pounding Yemen and Houthi fighters launching drones and missiles at Saudi cities.
"The geopolitical stalemate in the Middle East is likely to keep Qatari LNG exports constrained until at least Q1 2027, removing nearly 28 million tonnes of supply from the market during the 2026-27 northern hemisphere winter," analysts at ANZ Research said in a daily note.
"As inventory buffers diminish, demand destruction will become the primary balancing mechanism, leaving gas prices elevated and global LNG markets structurally tight well into 2027," they said, adding that European buyers are more likely to protect energy security by drawing on inventories and increasing prices.
Storage and Norwegian outages support the market
Europe’s gas stores are 68.66% full, latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed.
