Symbolic imageEuropean gas price hits highest since 2022 as storage runs low
European gas prices reached their highest level in nearly four years on Tuesday. Germany's economy ministry meanwhile plans a consumer levy for an emergency reserve.
Dutch TTF futures hit €87.20 per megawatt hour on Tuesday, a sixth straight daily rise, the Financial Times reports; Handelsblatt put the contract at €85.95. Prices were about €32 on the eve of the Iran war at the end of February. Storage is less than 74 per cent full against a five-year average of about 89 per cent, and only 60 per cent in Germany, according to Handelsblatt. The Financial Times adds that the stand-off between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy over Russian diesel and a forecast cold snap unsettled markets.
Berlin plans levy for gas reserve
A draft from the ministry of Katherina Reiche (CDU) provides for a reserve of 24 billion kilowatt hours that the Bundesnetzagentur could release only after declaring an emergency level. Costs of €247 to 308 million a year would fall about 60 per cent on industry; a typical household would pay €3.77 to 7.20 a year from 1 October 2027. The Greens' Julia Verlinden criticised the plan.
Analysts see lasting tightness
Analysts cited by Reuters, via Politika, expect no return to pre-war prices before 2028. An EU ban on Russian LNG from January 2027 could add pressure.
Other opinions
TASS blames record-low inventories and the Middle East conflict and does not mention the Russian diesel dispute.