European natural gas prices top €100 per MWh, highest since December 2022

Natural gas prices in Europe rose above €100 per megawatt-hour, reaching their highest level since December 2022, as tensions in the Middle East disrupted global liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments and strong demand from Asia pushed prices up.

On the Dutch hub TTF, the benchmark for European gas pricing, November futures contracts neared €101 per megawatt-hour during the day. Prices had been below €70 at the start of September. The de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz was decisive in the rise, cutting Qatari shipments to a quarter of their pre-war level. Qatar supplies one-fifth of global LNG.

Analysts warned that prices above €100 could trigger government intervention to curb demand. They said that if winter is extremely cold, prices could climb to €130 per megawatt-hour early next year, while storage facilities are not yet full.