Reference prices for natural gas on the European market fell on Monday thanks to unusually high temperatures for this time of year and a high degree of storage capacity, according to Bloomberg, taken by Agerpres.

At around 10:14 a.m. at the TTF gas hub in Amsterdam, where European benchmark prices are set, natural gas futures for November delivery fell 2.4% to 40.86 euros per megawatt-hour after falling 3, 5% % was committed during the session.

Weather forecasts show that temperatures in northwestern Europe will remain above the long-term average for most of October as gas is pumped into storage. According to the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe, gas storage in Europe is already more than 95% full.

Europe enters the fourth quarter with unseasonably warm weather, creating the prospect of fuel savings due to a late start to the heating season.

However, the continent is still vulnerable to possible supply problems and risks following last year’s historic energy crisis.

As of Sunday, supplies of natural gas from Algeria to Italy were below normal, according to data from Italy’s transport system operator. At the same time, from October 1, as planned, gas production from the Groningen field in the Netherlands was stopped.

Even if these events and other factors now affect supply, demand for gas and electricity should be higher in the fourth quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, analysts at S&P Global Commodity Insights said.

“Europe expects the first significant annual growth in demand for gas and electricity since the start of the crisis, but prices remain sensitive to supply disruptions,” analysts said in a report published on Friday.

According to these analysts, demand for gas will grow by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, after remaining at a limited level until now as a result of reduced consumption by manufacturers and households.

(article photo: DreamsTime.com)