European gas prices up amid supply cuts, tensions

European natural gas prices saw a four-day gain, the longest since January, driven by supply cuts from the Freeport LNG facility and attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

Benchmark futures soared by up to 7.7 per cent on Monday, marking the largest intraday increase since January 3.

The rally is attributed to reduced flows to the Freeport LNG export plant in Texas due to extended maintenance work and an unexpected outage in Norway, reducing pipeline gas exports.

Furthermore, gas prices are following the upward trend in oil contracts in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, raising geopolitical concerns.

Global outages at gas liquefaction facilities, from Malaysia to the US, are causing market unease as Europe nears the end of its heating season.

Meanwhile, the European Union is facing increasing pressure to reduce Russian LNG imports this year.

Despite these challenges, Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s gas benchmark, rose 5.9 per cent to €28.63 per megawatt-hour, indicating a resilient market.