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European Gas Extends Gains as Traders Look for Russian Supplies By Bloomberg

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© Reuters. European Gas Extends Gains as Traders Look for Russian Supplies

(Bloomberg) — Europe’s prices rallied, with traders seeking signs that Russia will send more fuel to the region that would help alleviate the supply crunch. 

The gas crisis is sending ripples through the region’s economy, with factories curbing output and U.K. energy suppliers going out of business. There are not many signs that the rally is slowing down with the heating season only two weeks away. 

Next-month Dutch benchmark gas contracts rose 9.9% while equivalent U.K. contracts rose 5.6%. Next-year German power increased 1.1% while carbon futures fell 1.6%.

Auctions for extra gas transportation capacity from Russia into Germany’s Mallnow facility are currently underway, with the result available later on Monday. Whether Gazprom PJSC (OTC:) books any additional capacity “could give an idea about its strategy for the coming weeks,” analysts at Engie EnergyScan said in a note. The Russian producer may be focusing on building up its domestic stock ahead of winter by causing a drop in the flow to Mallnow Monday. 

These are all positive signs. European storage facilities are at their lowest seasonal levels in more than 10 years. The majority of liquefied natural gases tankers heading to Asia are affected by disruptions in U.S. supplies. After Storm Nicholas, the Freeport LNG export plant continued to have production problems with train number. The facility was restarted over the weekend, and 3 of its trains tripped. 

“Moving to high price levels is a way of the market to take some of the demand out,” said Tom Marzec-Manser, an analyst for European gas and LNG at ICIS. “I have no doubt that gas will be delivered for those who need it the most, such as residential consumers. But other sources of gas demand might have to step away in the case the market gets really tight during the winter.”

His view resonates with a Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:). A note was issued late last week, warning that industrial consumers will need to cut down on their gas consumption. The surge in gas and electricity prices is also threatening to push more energy suppliers out of business in the U.K. 

Low wind power output is prompting demand for natural gas to generate power, adding the bullish sentiment. According to grid data, U.K. power generation was only 60% of the total U.K. output, while wind was just 9.3%. 

 

 

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

 

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