European gas prices slide further at market opening
European gas prices declined further when markets opened on October 10, amid ongoing reductions in demand and continued growth in storage levels.
The November contract at the Dutch TTF hub hit a low of €144/MWh ($1,490/'000 m3) at around 06:20 GMT, down 7.8% from the previous trading session price of €156.2/MWh.
Futures contracts at the hub have seen a fairly steady decline since spiking at €223/MWh on September 28, two days after major leaks were reported at the Nord Stream pipelines, suggesting they will not be available for operation this winter.
Prices are also down more than 40% from an all-time record height of around €350/MWh recorded on August 26.
According to ICIS Gas Foresight BETA data, European gas demand in September was nearly 11% lower than the five-year average. The European Commission has called on EU member states to cut consumption by 15% over the winter.
EU gas storage facilities are now 88.6% full, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data, suggesting the continent is fairly well-stocked for the coming winter, assuming average weather conditions, despite ongoing reductions in Russian supply. With Nord Stream out of action, Russian gas flow to Europe hit a new low of only 2.3bn m3 in September.
With the market set to remain extremely tight and prices expected to remain high, experts have warned that Europe will face a greater challenge refilling its storage facilities in 2023, for the following heating season.