European Natural Gas Prices Hit Highest Level in Almost Four Years
Limited supply and low stocks pushed European gas prices in September to their highest since late 2022, according to a Latvenergo analyst. Prices eased late in the month, but storage levels remain below last year's.
European natural gas prices reached their highest level in almost four years in September, driven by constrained supply and low inventories. This is according to Paula Kate Čākure, a trading analyst at Latvenergo, the Latvian energy company, in the firm's Electricity Market Review. The trend matters ahead of the heating season, as higher gas prices affect the wider energy market.
September price rise
In September, the front-month contract on the TTF, Europe's benchmark gas market, rose 22% from August to 74.87 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh). Prices kept climbing early in the month because European gas stocks were considerably lower than in previous years.
Reduced Norwegian supply gave prices further support. Because of maintenance and technical problems at the Troll field, exports were periodically cut by more than 50 million cubic metres per day. Uncertainty also persisted over liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries from the Middle East.
Qatar and Ras Laffan
Mid-month, the TTF price reached 84.5 euros per MWh, the highest since December 2022. The rise was driven by the decision of QatarEnergy, a Qatari state-owned company and one of the world's largest LNG exporters, to extend its force majeure on deliveries to Europe. As a result, part of the contracted LNG volumes will remain unavailable to Europe.
Uncertainty grew further after the company said that restoring damaged LNG production equipment at the Ras Laffan complex, with total capacity of 17.4 billion cubic metres a year, could take up to three years.
Partial easing
In the second half of September, prices fell gradually amid optimism about possible diplomatic progress between the United States and Iran and rising LNG deliveries to Europe. European LNG imports hit a four-month high in September, LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz increased, and competition for cargoes from Asia eased.
Still, at the end of the month prices remained supported by EU gas storage, which was only 71% full, about 11 percentage points lower than a year earlier. According to Čākure, this keeps the market sensitive to supply disruptions and colder weather during the heating season.
About the company
Latvenergo produces and sells electricity, heat and natural gas, and provides electricity distribution services. The group's 2025 turnover was 1.566 billion euros, with a profit of 198.809 million euros.
