Europe’s benchmark natural gas prices fell by 2.5% on Tuesday, following a four-day Easter holiday weekend. The drop was attributed to LNG cargo arrivals slightly exceeding seasonal averages, which helped ease concerns about gas storage refills for the upcoming spring and summer months.
As of 11:28 a.m. in Amsterdam, Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures, the benchmark for Europe’s gas trading, stood at $49.97 (34.78 euros) per megawatt-hour (MWh), down 2.5%.
At the close of the heating season, Europe’s natural gas storage levels were at their lowest in three years. A cold winter, coupled with low renewable energy output due to weak winds and limited sunshine, led to higher-than-usual gas consumption.
Traders and analysts are closely monitoring how quickly storage sites are replenished in the coming months, along with LNG demand in Asia. There are concerns that rising demand in North Asia could compete for spot cargoes, potentially impacting Europe’s gas supply.
Natural gas prices have eased recently, partly due to the European Union’s decision to give member states more flexibility in meeting natural gas storage targets. The EU is considering extending the timeframe for countries to meet the 90% storage target before winter and allowing a deviation of up to 10%.
Earlier this month, the EU supported a proposal to extend gas storage regulations by two years. However, member states are seeking more flexibility in achieving the storage goals to avoid price spikes during tight market conditions.
This year, the refill season posed challenges for gas traders due to high summer prices, which discouraged stockpiling. However, the price difference between near-term and winter 2026 futures has shifted into a small contango. In this market structure, longer-dated futures prices are higher than nearby ones, which could encourage stockpiling if the trend continues.
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