European gas prices rise after Friday clash between Trump and Zelensky

Wholesale gas prices for the European market are rising today. Uncertainty over a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and strong demand are pushing them higher, Reuters reported. At around 12:30 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 more than four percent at over 46 euros (roughly CZK 1,160) per megawatt-hour (MWh).

Friday’s clash between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House has deepened uncertainty in the gas market. „There is no doubt that there are concerns in the energy market,“ analysts at Auxilione said. „Europe (or at least part of it) will now try to find a solution for peace,“ they added.

Strong demand also continues to persist in the gas market. „In February, gas demand in Europe rose by 20 percent, the sharpest year-on-year increase since April 2021, when the market was recovering from COVID-related lockdowns,“ said Gergely Molnár, a gas market analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA). He said the increase in demand was driven primarily by the power sector, which is using gas to offset a decline in wind power generation.