European wholesale gas prices held steady on Friday near their highest levels since late 2022, securing a third straight weekly gain. Supply worries around LNG shipping and Norwegian outages are pushing prices up, while EU storage sits well below its usual mid-October level.
European and British wholesale natural gas futures held largely steady on Friday, hovering near their highest levels since late 2022. Both benchmarks locked in a third consecutive week of gains.
The Dutch front-month contract traded flat at 86.10 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), capping a nearly 6% weekly advance. In Great Britain, the NBP contract held around 213.00 pence per therm and posted a 5.3% weekly gain.
Shipping attacks and Norwegian outages tighten supply
Ongoing maritime attacks and new targeting tactics near the Strait of Hormuz have constrained seaborne LNG deliveries transiting the Persian Gulf. Extended, costly reroutings around the Cape of Good Hope have delayed spot cargoes bound for European regasification terminals.
Norway added pressure earlier in the week. Unplanned maintenance outages, including reduced processing capacity at the Kårstø plant, curbed pipeline deliveries into Western European hubs and forced utilities to bid up spot paper.
Storage at 74% limits downside
Short-term forecasts pointing to milder near-term temperatures helped flatten price action on Friday. However, energy desks caution that downside momentum remains constrained by depleted regional inventories.
EU underground gas storage sits at approximately 74% capacity, well below the historical average of roughly 86% typically seen at this point in mid-October. Trading desks warn that a late-October cold snap or further LNG supply disruption could trigger a fresh leg higher across continental gas curves.
Source: Investing.com
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