Benchmark natural gas prices in Europe rose sharply on Thursday morning as a wave of cold temperatures will boost demand for gas and show how prepared Europe is for winter in the face of reduced Russian gas supplies, writes Bloomberg, citing Agerpres.

At the TTF hub in Amsterdam, where European reference prices are set, gas quotes rose as much as 13% on Thursday, reaching their highest level in six weeks. Around 10:05 a.m., gas futures for delivery next month rose 6.8 percent to 156.38 euros per megawatt hour.

Long-term weather forecasts by specialist companies Maxar Technologies LLC and Marex show that temperatures in Europe will drop significantly in December after a month of above-average temperatures in November.

A frosty winter will leave the continent more vulnerable to further supply problems after Russia shuts down most of its pipeline gas over the winter.

New concerns about natural gas supplies to Europe

LPG helped to fill the gap created by the reduction in Russian supplies and also allowed for the filling of warehouses, but now the supply of liquefied gas is starting to decrease.

Demand for gas for power generation may also be boosted by the fact that weather forecasts indicate moderate to low potential for wind power generation in the UK, continental Europe and the Nordics over the next two weeks.

European leaders urged consumers to save on electricity to survive the winter.

In addition, the continent is trying to rapidly expand its infrastructure to get more liquefied gas, and Germany is due to open its first import terminal as early as this month.

But if a cold wave hits Asia, demand in the region could explode, as could competition for offshore liquefied gas, which could push prices even higher.