Gas prices in Europe risen sharply

European gas prices have risen amid rising demand in Asia and reduced supplies from Norway.

This was reported by Economic Pravda with reference to Bloomberg.

The report said that the underlying futures rose by 4.3%, which was the largest daily increase in the last month.

Gas futures in the Netherlands were trading at USD 412 per thousand cubic meters.

Chinese importers returned to buying liquefied natural gas on the spot market after a long pause, which intensified competition for supplies between Europe and Asia.

An additional factor was the rise in oil prices, to which some gas contracts are tied.

At the same time, maintenance work at fields in Norway, the largest European supplier, has limited pipeline flows.

The situation has been complicated by unplanned outages and a cold snap in Europe, which could delay the filling of storage facilities, particularly in the eastern regions.

Gas prices in Europe have lost more than 15% since the beginning of April, which helped accelerate the accumulation of reserves, but at the same time increased interest in purchases in other regions.

Meanwhile, the EU is preparing a ban on new gas contracts with russia, which is due to come into force by the end of the year.

This is part of a plan aimed at completely abandoning russian energy by 2027.

“The European gas market remains difficult for all market participants due to geopolitical tensions and unclear developments in European energy supply,” said Jutta Doenges, CFO of Uniper SE.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, natural gas prices in Ukraine on Tuesday, April 29, exceeded spot prices for natural gas in Europe for the first time in almost a year.