European Gas Prices Higher, Senate Recommends France Stop Russian LNG Imports

European LNG rose 1.9% on Wednesday to EUR 35.35 after a high of EUR 35.63 to be up 3.3% in June. Prices rose sharply following France’s senate committee recommending that imports of Russian LNG be halted “as soon as possible”. This is significant as Russia is France’s second largest supplier. Europe continues to look for ways to reduce its use of Russian LNG after it stopped pipeline flows following the invasion of Ukraine.

• The European Union would like to ban all imports of Russian LNG but is yet to find a consensus on increasing sanctions on gas. Reliance on its LNG has increased with shipments from Qatar dropping as vessels have avoided the Suez canal due to attacks by Houthi militants in the Red Sea. This means that routes are lengthened and costs increased as ships go via southern Africa.
• US natural gas rose 0.5% to $2.92 and is 13% higher this month. It has continued to climb in today’s trading. Prices have risen on the back of warmer weather predictions and a tropical storm off the coast of Texas.
• North Asian prices are 3.6% higher in June. Gas consumption in the region has increased due to cooling demand and forecasts that hot weather will continue in July signal that high usage will continue.