European Gas Rally Stalls as Norwegian Outages Impact Supply

European Gas Rally Broken by Norwegian Disruptions

The recent rally in European natural gas prices lost momentum yesterday, with the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) — a key European gas benchmark — closing down by 0.66% for the day. This setback comes amid supply disruptions from Norway, one of Europe’s largest gas suppliers.

The ongoing weakness in the JKM-TTF spread, which measures the price difference between Asian and European gas markets, continues to weigh on TTF prices. Over the past week, Norwegian gas deliveries to Europe have been hampered by technical issues. Specifically, the Troll gas field experienced power-related outages following routine maintenance last week. Industry sources suggest the disruptions might persist until the weekend, putting additional pressure on supply.

On the demand side, EU gas storage levels are steadily rising and currently stand at just under 47% capacity. However, this is significantly lower compared to the same period last year, when storage was 69% full, and also below the five-year average of 58%. The build-up in storage is a positive signal but still highlights ongoing concerns about supply security ahead of the winter season.

Market participants will be closely watching Norway’s ability to restore full production, as well as overall storage trends, which will influence natural gas prices in the near term.