European gas prices rebound on low storage levels, weak LNG flows

Dutch and British gas contracts rose on Tuesday morning, with attention again turning to gas storage, which is now half empty, weaker flows of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and the deterioration in the relationship between the U.S. and Europe.

The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub was up €1.92 at €37.10 per megawatt hour (MWh), or $12.75/MMBtu, by 0908 GMT, LSEG data showed.

The Dutch day-ahead contract was up €2.10 at €38/MWh.

The British day-ahead gas price was 4.00 pence firmer at 97.00 pence per therm, while the front-month gas contract was up 4.45 pence at 96.20 p/therm.

"Our LNG sendout outlook is quite weak for the rest of January, as two French terminals, Montoir and Fos Cavaou, decrease their nominations significantly today," LSEG analyst Saku Jussila said.

Prices are rebounding after a sharp drop on Monday over the threat of fresh U.S. tariffs sapping European demand and slightly milder forecasts.

"However, should demand remain elevated, it has little cover," said Daniel Hynes, chief commodity strategist at ANZ, highlighting low gas storage filling.

EU gas storage sites had now dropped below 50%, almost 14 Bm3 below their 5-yr average, Greg Molnar, a gas analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a LinkedIn post.

Although storage withdrawals are not quite as strong as a week ago, concerns are rising about refilling over the summer and autumn, said Lars Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst at Global Risk Management.

At the same time, there was now also a risk, albeit small, that the U.S. may use its LNG exports as a "weapon" by cutting deliveries to put pressure on the EU amid conflicts of Greenland and trade, he added.

The EU sourced 27% of its total gas and LNG imports from the U.S. in 2025, up from 6% in 2021, according to figures from the Institute for Energy Economics and financial Analysis (IEEFA).

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 was down €1.08 at €87.06 a metric ton.

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