US deliveries and mild weather relieve tight market

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ANP / Lex van Lieshout

European natural gas prices fell for the fourth day in a row. The U.S. gas supply is expected to bring some relief to the tight market. In addition, the weather is mild and the demand for energy is low due to the impact of the omigron variant of the corona virus.

The Dutch futures market, which has a policy of guiding European gas prices, saw the price of one megawatt of gas fall by almost a fifth on Monday to about 90 euros. This is the lowest level since December 6th. Gas prices hit nearly 188 euros last week.

Natural gas prices have fallen by a quarter since last week as the number of ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) increased and sailed to Western European ports. Information sent by the Bloomberg News Agency shortly before Christmas showed that at least 15 gas tankers would be heading from the United States to ports in Western Europe. Along the way there are several ships with American LNG, the destination of which is not yet clear, but they do seem to be heading for Europe.

read more: News of the arrival of 15 US ships full of liquefied natural gas European gas prices fall further – perhaps more ships coming

Moderate weather forecast for most of Europe will further reduce energy demand. Moreover, there is uncertainty about the impact of the epidemic, especially now that the number of epidemics worldwide is increasing rapidly, affecting energy demand.

However, Europe is still facing an energy crisis. Gas reserves are still low. Prices have more than quadrupled this year. This is due to the limited gas supply from Russia to Europe. France’s decision to close four nuclear reactors for additional maintenance also pushed up prices.

read more: Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister says Europe is losing gas due to delays in laying North Stream 2 gas pipeline