Gas prices stabilise at 4-year highs as market eyes Middle East diplomacy
UNG•Dutch and British benchmark gas prices eased slightly on Tuesday but remained near their highest levels since December 2022. The Dutch contract was €96.03 per MWh and the British contract 237.03 pence per therm.
1. Prices remain elevated
The Dutch front-month contract fell €0.68 to €96.03 per megawatt hour, while the British contract dropped 1.33 pence to 237.03 pence per therm. Both contracts reached their highest intraday levels since December 2022 on Monday.
2. Supply and demand pressures
Diplomatic activity in the Middle East provided some support for prices, but continued attacks and disruption to liquefied natural gas supplies from the region remain concerns. Colder weather, lower wind speeds and outages at Norwegian production facilities are also tightening the market. European gas storage was 74.9% full, and analysts expected sites to switch to net withdrawals from Wednesday.
3. Qatar cargo disruption
Edison said QatarEnergy would not be able to deliver liquefied natural gas cargoes to the utility until the end of December. Norwegian gas exports were nominated at 324.2 million cubic metres per day, with availability curtailed at several facilities and fields.
