Gas Prices Lower As European Storage Levels High

European LNG prices unwound a large share of Tuesday’s gains with yesterday falling 3.8% to EUR 31.56 after a high of EUR 33.29 early in the session. They are now down 8.5% this month. Disruptions to the Freeport LNG facility in Texas from Hurricane Beryl pushed prices higher but reports that European storage levels are at 81% pushed them lower again.

• Hot weather in the south of Europe is set to continue with higher temperatures expected for the north, which has had a mild summer, according to Maxar Technologies.
• Bloomberg is reporting that Goldman Sachs is forecasting that any European gas price rises will be limited as industrial growth is lacklustre and nuclear energy is likely to cover any spikes in power demand. It expects storage to be at 95% by the end of the summer.
• US natural gas prices sank 6.5% on Wednesday to $2.05 to be down over 21% in July to date. According to Bloomberg, power supply levels to the Freeport LNG facility suggest that output has improved but less than one train is operational. Exports are still on hold.
• North Asian prices fell 2.2% to be down 2.6% this month after data showing a large stock build in Japan last week. But low prices are encouraging participants into the market, especially from China.