MNI: PBOC Net Drains CNY150.6 Bln via OMO Tuesday

MNI: PBOC Sets Yuan Parity Higher At 7.1879 Tues; -2.42% Y/Y

JUSTIN TRUDEAU TO STEP DOWN AS CANADA LIBERAL LEADER AND PM

MNI China Daily Summary: Monday, January 6

MNI INTERVIEW2: China Central Gov Should Buy Unsold Houses

MNI China Press Digest Jan 6: PBOC Bills, Yuan, Capital Market

MNI: AUSTRALIA NOV BUILDING APPROVALS -3.6% M/M, +3.2% Y/Y

MNI: AUSTRALIA DEC DWELLING APPROVALS -3.6% M/M

MNI: UK BRC DEC BY VALUE SHOP SALES LFL +3.1% YY, TOTAL +3.2% YY

MNI EXCLUSIVE: EU-Mercosur Deal Close, But Likely Short-Lived - Officials

AUSTRALIA: 2025 Election Outcome Looking More Uncertain According To Newspoll

© 1982-2025 MNI. All rights reserved.
Terms | Privacy
Log Out
Free Trial

LNG: Norwegian Outage Highlights Risks To European Supplies

LNG
EM BulletCommoditiesEnergy BulletsBulletPower BulletsMarketsFixed Income BulletsForeign Exchange Bullets

European natural gas prices continued to climb on Thursday rising another 1.7% to EUR 49.73 to be up 3.6% this week. It started trading reaching a high of EUR 51.00 before falling to a low of EUR 48.55. An unplanned outage in Norway boosted prices, while the expiry of a deal to allow Russian gas to transit through Ukraine on January 1 at a time of colder weather has also driven them higher. 

  • The Hammerfest LNG facility in Norway has stopped activity until January 9, which will add to European supply pressures. Bloomberg notes that storage drawdowns in the region are currently at their fastest pace since 2021. But the EU remains unconcerned about the end to Russian flows through Ukraine as it has had a year to prepare. Only the pipeline through Turkey to Hungary is now in operation.
  • The market will watch European storage refilling over the spring and summer and is likely to face increased sensitivity to global supply outages as it relies more heavily on LNG imports. LNG shipments from Russia were at a record high in 2024, according to Bloomberg. But LNG is less practical for landlocked central European countries.
  • Austria’s dispute with Gazprom in 2024 has seen the central European country source more gas through Germany and Italy, according to Austria Gas Grid Management.
  • US natural gas rose 0.5% to $3.66 after an intraday high of $3.80. Forecasts for a cold snap have driven a price rise of over 8% this week. Increased heating demand as well as risks from freezing to Appalachian output are likely to drive inventory drawdowns. 
264 words

To read the full story

Close

Why MNI

MNI is the leading provider

of intelligence and analysis on the Global Fixed Income, Foreign Exchange and Energy markets. We use an innovative combination of real-time analysis, deep fundamental research and journalism to provide unique and actionable insights for traders and investors. Our "All signal, no noise" approach drives an intelligence service that is succinct and timely, which is highly regarded by our time constrained client base.

Our Head Office is in London with offices in Chicago, Washington and Beijing, as well as an on the ground presence in other major financial centres across the world.

European natural gas prices continued to climb on Thursday rising another 1.7% to EUR 49.73 to be up 3.6% this week. It started trading reaching a high of EUR 51.00 before falling to a low of EUR 48.55. An unplanned outage in Norway boosted prices, while the expiry of a deal to allow Russian gas to transit through Ukraine on January 1 at a time of colder weather has also driven them higher. 

  • The Hammerfest LNG facility in Norway has stopped activity until January 9, which will add to European supply pressures. Bloomberg notes that storage drawdowns in the region are currently at their fastest pace since 2021. But the EU remains unconcerned about the end to Russian flows through Ukraine as it has had a year to prepare. Only the pipeline through Turkey to Hungary is now in operation.
  • The market will watch European storage refilling over the spring and summer and is likely to face increased sensitivity to global supply outages as it relies more heavily on LNG imports. LNG shipments from Russia were at a record high in 2024, according to Bloomberg. But LNG is less practical for landlocked central European countries.
  • Austria’s dispute with Gazprom in 2024 has seen the central European country source more gas through Germany and Italy, according to Austria Gas Grid Management.
  • US natural gas rose 0.5% to $3.66 after an intraday high of $3.80. Forecasts for a cold snap have driven a price rise of over 8% this week. Increased heating demand as well as risks from freezing to Appalachian output are likely to drive inventory drawdowns.