European gas prices continue to surge, topping 56 euros per MWh

The wholesale price of gas for the European market continues to rise sharply due to the impact of the war in the Middle East, reaching 56 euros (1360 Kč) per megawatt-hour (MWh). Fears of supply shortages are contributing to the increase following reports that Qatar was forced to halt exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Monday. The European Union is a major buyer of LNG from Qatar, which it uses to partly replace Russian supplies it has rejected.

Around 09:00 CET, the price of the key front-month gas futures contract was up more than 26 percent on the Title Transfer Facility (TTF), a virtual trading hub in the Netherlands, and stood above 56 euros per MWh. On Monday, the price had already risen by around 35 percent, briefly showing a gain of as much as 50 percent.

QatarEnergy halted LNG production on Monday after Iranian drones struck gas processing facilities that account for roughly one-fifth of global LNG production. The disruption could affect approximately 15 percent of Europe’s LNG imports, the Trading Economics website reported.

The US-Israeli attack on Iran began on Saturday. Gas prices have risen by more than 60 percent since Friday, with similar fluctuations last seen during the energy crisis in 2022. Europe is entering the final phase of winter with depleted reserves, which could intensify competition as countries build up stocks for the coming season, Bloomberg reported.