[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] European natural gas prices have fallen for five consecutive days, marking the longest decline in over a year, Bloomberg reported on the 28th (local time).
On that day, the price of natural gas futures for delivery in January next year on the Netherlands TTF exchange was 104.6 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh). This is a drop of more than 40% compared to the record high of 180 euros per MWh recorded on the 21st. At that time, natural gas prices surged due to Russia reducing natural gas supply and forecasts of a cold wave.
However, since then, natural gas futures prices have been falling daily. Increased supply of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) has alleviated concerns caused by the reduction in Russian natural gas supply. Bloomberg reported that the number of U.S. LNG vessels heading to Europe reached 20 last weekend, an increase of five compared to the previous week.
As European natural gas prices rise, there are increasing cases of U.S. LNG vessels redirecting from the Asian market to the European market, and Australian LNG vessels are also starting to sell gas to Europe.
Forecasts that temperatures will rise somewhat next week and that gas demand will decrease are also supporting the price decline.
While Russia continues to limit gas supply to Europe, Bloomberg reported that the amount of gas stored in European storage facilities is currently 23% less than the average for this time of year over the past five years.
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