Gas prices in Europe have exceeded €100 for the first time since the crisis of 2022

The price of European natural gas contracts has exceeded €100 per megawatt-hour—for the first time since the 2022 energy crisis, Bloomberg noted. This has reignited fears of another painful price shock just as the region enters a period of peak demand, the agency notes.

Dutch November-delivery futures, which serve as a benchmark for gas prices in Europe, rose 5% to an intraday high, reaching €100.75 per megawatt-hour—the highest level since December 2022, according to Bloomberg. Similar contracts in the U.K. also surged to their highest levels since that time. Gas prices in Europe have surpassed the €100 mark for the first time since the market turmoil that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the agency notes.

Moreover, compared to late February, when the war in the Middle East began, the price of natural gas in Europe has more than tripled. Fears that an escalation of the war with Iran could further disrupt global gas supplies, combined with unusually low gas reserves in Europe and rising demand for heating, have led to a new spike in prices, Bloomberg reports. However, Europe is still far from the extreme prices recorded during the last energy crisis, the agency notes. For example, in 2022, the spot price of Dutch natural gas futures reached a historic high of about €345 per megawatt-hour, while Brent crude rose to nearly $140 per barrel.

Oil prices also rose on October 28: WTI futures jumped 2.8% to $102.7 per barrel, while contracts for the benchmark Brent crude rose 1.6% and are trading around $116 per barrel. Traders reacted, among other things, to reports that the U.S. had urged several Gulf states to prepare for a short and intense military campaign against Iran following the midterm elections. The Wall Street Journal reported this on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the negotiations.

“€100 is, without a doubt, a psychological threshold. Given how rapidly the geopolitical situation in the Middle East is changing right now—especially with the upcoming U.S. midterm elections—it wouldn’t take much for European gas prices to rise even higher,” said Tom Marzek-Manser, director of European gas and LNG markets at Wood Mackenzie.

Supply disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict have already increased Europe’s spending on fossil fuel imports by more than €100 billion. Against the backdrop of unusually low inventories for this time of year and a cold snap that is expected to boost demand in the coming days, the return to triple-digit prices is putting increased pressure on businesses, households, and governments, notes Bloomberg.

“We are fighting two wars, and their consequences have merged. Prices for all commodities are rising, and they are driving each other up,” noted Anne-Sophie Corbo, a research fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor