Low Gas Prices Encourage Purchasers

Natural gas prices rose on Monday as consumers entered the market to take advantage of very low prices. European LNG rose 4% to EUR 23.85 after a high of EUR 24.32 to be 21.1% lower in February. The focus is now on refilling storage ahead of the next winter. Power companies are still prepared for volatility in the market now that Europe is more dependent on supplies outside the continent.

• Flows from Norway have resumed after some unplanned outages.
• Qatar’s announcement that it would expand capacity by 2030 is also welcome news for Europe given its shift away from Russian gas and the US stalling export approvals while it assesses the impact of gas shipments on climate change.
• US natural gas rose 1.9% to $1.63 off the intraday high of $1.73. It is down 22.2% this month. There are also large short positions in the market, which signal that any further downside is limited, according to BOK Financial Securities. Warm weather at the start of March is forecast to move from the Midwest to the East of the US.
• Asian prices rose 3.4% on Monday to be down 16% this month. Increased demand from China is expected. It will open 8 new import terminals in 2024.