The price of European gas continued to rise, today, Friday, in light of the difficulty of the European Union collecting sufficient reserves to enable it to dispense with imports of Russian gas during the coming winter, without causing a shortage of strategic stocks.

Futures contracts for Dutch TTF gas - the main natural gas approved in Europe - were traded at 249 euros per megawatt-hour, a level not recorded since the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine when the markets witnessed a lot of volatility.

However, the price of gas is still far from the historical peak recorded on March 7 at 345 euros.

And the authority supervising the energy sector in Germany reported earlier that the country may not achieve the goal of filling its reservoirs set by the government, and the head of the authority, Klaus Muller, warned of a shortage in several regions in the winter, noting that the matter is not related to “only the coming winter, but rather my season.” The next winter at least, and the second winter could be even more difficult."

Europe is trying with difficulty to stop its dependence on Russian gas supplies, which Germany relies on in particular, and which Moscow uses as a pressure tool in the context of its war on Ukraine.

In Germany, the state will impose a new controversial tax on gas from October 1, but the government has promised to ease the impact of the increase on the poorest classes, and Deutsche Bank analysts believe that “the shock of the October bill will lead to a decrease in household demand.” ".

Increased consumption of electrical energy

Electricity is automatically affected by the development of gas prices, as the global market suffers from the cost of gas and coal plants that are used to ensure the balance of the supply and demand system.

Contributing to the price hike, analysts at Rystad Energy said, were "lower wind levels for wind turbines, as well as higher coal and gas costs."

At the same time, hot summers limited electricity production, as the heat wave affected the cooling systems of nuclear power plants, and drought prevented boats from delivering coal to German power plants.

However, the heat wave stimulates the consumption of electricity to obtain air conditioning, which limits the normal decline in consumption during the summer.

The cost of electricity to be delivered next year in Germany for the first time exceeded 500 euros per megawatt-hour, compared to just over 300 euros in early July.

"This could be Europe's biggest energy crisis in at least a generation," said John Blasard, an economic analyst at Mirabeau.

low oil

Meanwhile, oil prices fell Friday by 2% to $94.59 for Brent North Sea crude, on which Europe mainly depends, and by less than 1.99% to $88.72 for West Texas Intermediate crude.

Stephen Brennock, analyst at BVF, said trading volumes have been thin this summer, encouraging increased price volatility, as well as a sudden drop in US inventories this past Wednesday afternoon.

"The possibility of a global recession killing demand remains the main concern, with the release of discouraging data from the euro area and China," he added.