Gas prices in Europe plunge after two-year high
Photo: Gas prices in Europe have fallen sharply (Getty Images)
Natural gas prices in Europe remain near a three-week low amid easing sentiment following a challenging start to 2025. Futures at the TTF hub in the Netherlands have fallen to €50.6 per megawatt-hour (around $560 per thousand cubic meters), Bloomberg reports.
Last week, prices surged to $58 (approximately $635 per thousand cubic meters), reaching a two-year high. However, gas prices then declined, wiping out most of the gains since the beginning of the year.
In recent weeks, European prices had been rising as cold weather led to rapid withdrawals from gas storage, sparking fears that traders might struggle to replenish reserves this summer. However, discussions within the European Union about potentially easing storage requirements have helped alleviate some of these concerns.
Currently, weather conditions are also playing a positive role, with temperatures in northwestern Europe expected to rise above seasonal norms in the coming days. Furthermore, LNG imports to Europe have surged recently, helping to slow the depletion of gas reserves.
Analysts at Rystad Energy noted in their report that they expect the volume of fuel in European underground storage to decline to around 43 billion cubic meters, equivalent to a 39% storage level, before recoevering to approximately 48 billion cubic meters, or 43%, by the end of the heating season in late March.
The National Bank of Ukraine expects natural gas prices on the European market to decline gradually, despite an anticipated increase in industrial demand. This trend is primarily attributed to rising LNG supplies, as global LNG production capacity expands significantly, and its role in Europe becomes more prominent due to the development of LNG infrastructure.
