TTF front-month gas price slides to lowest level since Sept 2021
The front-month gas price at the TTF gas hub dropped to €51.7/MWh ($591/'000 m3) on February 14, representing its lowest level since September 2021, amid eased recession fears, mild weather, the end of a supply outage in Norway and expectations of ample wind power generation in northwest Europe.
As of 07:45 GMT, the price has risen slightly to €52/MWh.
European gas storage is at 66% of capacity, and while it is recognised that supply shortages are very unlikely this winter, Germany and other European countries are taking steps to ensure sufficient stocks ahead of next winter, which could be much colder.
Swedish grid operator Svenska Kraftnat said on February 14 that it had downgraded the risk of a shortage of power from "real" to "low", while Germany's federal network agency Bundesnetzagentur said the same day that the country's gas supply was stable, and "it is unlikely that there will be a gas deficit situation this winter." The country's underground storage facilities are at more than 73% of capacity.
Ample LNG supply has helped compensate for a drastic decline in Russian pipeline gas supply to Europe over the past year. Gazprom's deliveries to the EU are now at around 10-15% of the level that they were at the start of 2022.