Gas reserves are depleting at a rapid pace - The interruption of Russian supplies threatens the stability of the European market
Europe is using up gas reserves at the fastest pace in seven years as cold weather boosts heating needs, with temperatures expected to drop again this week.
The region's large underground storage facilities are just over 70% full, compared with about 86% a year ago. While there is no risk of an immediate shortage, rapid depletion could make stockpiling more challenging ahead of the next heating season and risks impacting near-term prices.
Storage levels have fallen a total of 25 percentage points from their peak, more than any decline since 2018, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.
"The lower storage levels are at the end of March, the harder it will be for the region to replenish before next winter," according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s head of natural gas research.
The weather has turned colder in much of northwestern Europe, boosting the use of gas for heating. The continent is also increasingly exposed to market volatility as it relies on global liquefied natural gas to replace shortfalls in Russian supplies via Ukraine.
Unplanned outages from key suppliers can affect the region's fragile balance and cause price fluctuations. In Norway, the Hammerfest LNG plant has stopped operations until January 9 due to a compressor failure.
Prices rose 4% last week and are near a 14-month high as the market grapples with falling inventories.
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