European gas rises as supply risks overshadow high reserves

European natural gas prices have eased, with traders weighing ever-rising fuel stockpiles against the risk of supply constraints.

Benchmark futures fell as much as 3.2 per cent, following a jump in the previous session. Sluggish demand after last year’s energy crisis and ample inventories for the upcoming heating season is helping to keep a lid on prices, Bloomberg reports.

The European Union’s fuel inventories are more than 87 per cent full. That’s the highest level on record for this time of year, data from Gas Infrastructure Europe show, and just shy of the block’s mandatory target to have 90 per cent by November. Some states have already exceeded that level, including Spain and the Netherlands, while Germany and Italy are closing in.

Still, traders are closely watching supplies, especially after Europe’s liquefied natural gas imports recently dropped to the lowest levels since 2021.

Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s gas benchmark, traded 2.1 per cent lower at €29.85 a megawatt-hour by 10:32 a.m. in Amsterdam. The UK equivalent contract declined by 1.5 per cent.