European gas prices reach highest level since late 2022
Traders cite a delayed meeting on Strait of Hormuz transit and worry about longer Persian Gulf supply disruption while EU storage fills.
European wholesale gas jumped to its highest level since late 2022 as traders reacted to a postponed meeting on commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns that Persian Gulf deliveries could be constrained for an extended period.
On the Dutch TTF hub, a megawatt-hour for October delivery was trading at €83.71 this afternoon, marking the strongest reading since the second half of December 2022 and an increase of 5.26 percent compared with Friday.
Maritime traffic figures showed that only 4 commercial vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz from the Persian Gulf over the weekend. By contrast, in the ten days before, an average of 14 ships transited the waterway daily.
EU storage being filled ahead of the heating season
Before the start of the US war against Iran at the end of February, about 125 commercial vessels — including oil tankers and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers — typically passed through the strait each day.
At the same time, European countries have been accelerating injections into gas storage ahead of winter. Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) reported that EU storage sites were filled to 68.04 percent of capacity.
Photo: press material from the event
