European gas hits its highest price since December 2022 with EU storage at 74.6%

The TTF, Europe's benchmark natural gas price, briefly touched 97.64 euros per megawatt hour on Monday 26 October and was hovering around 96 euros, its highest level since December 2022, according to Euronews. At the beginning of January it stood at around 28 euros, which amounts to a rise of around 234% so far this year.

EU gas storage was at 74.6% of capacity on 24 October, according to the Bruegel think tank cited by Euronews, compared with 82.9% a year earlier. The IEEFA institute says this is the lowest level for this time of year since records began, in 2011. According to Euronews, filling has stalled and some countries have begun drawing on their winter reserves.

Euronews attributes the rise to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has cut off the supply of liquefied natural gas from Qatar: according to Bruegel, liquefied gas from the Middle East accounted for around 8% of EU imports last year and has not arrived since May. Asian buyers are also competing for the same cargoes.

Story under review: the figures come from a single outlet and The Post Apocalyptic has not yet consulted the market or storage data at source.