European gas prices surge due to developments in the Middle East

The price of gas on the European market rose by as much as 35 percent at the start of trading today, climbing above 70 euros (around CZK 1,700) per megawatt-hour (MWh). It reacted to reports of attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East. The rise later eased. Shortly before 09:00 CET, the price of the key front-month gas futures contract at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF), a virtual trading hub in the Netherlands, was up around 24 percent, trading close to 68 euros per MWh.

According to AFP, the increase in gas prices was driven mainly by reports of an Iranian attack on the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility, located in Qatar. Qatar's state-owned energy company said the attack had caused significant damage. The government later announced, however, that all fires were under control, AFP reports.

On Wednesday, Iranian gas production infrastructure at the South Pars field in the Persian Gulf was targeted in an Israeli attack. US President Donald Trump subsequently said the United States knew nothing about the attack, adding that Israel would not strike the critically important field again.

Trump also warned that if Iran attacked Qatar again, the United States would "blow up the entire South Pars field with a force Iran has never seen before, with or without Israel's help or consent."

The conflict in the Middle East, which began in late February with US-Israeli attacks on Iran, has among other things brought shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a standstill. Around one-fifth of the world's oil and natural gas supplies normally pass through it.

On Tuesday, gas storage facilities in the European Union were just under 29 percent full, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). In the Czech Republic, the figure was just under 30 percent.