Natural Gas Futures Continue to Rise and Rise to 5-Month High

European natural gas futures rose more than 3.5% to €36/MWh, hitting a five-month high on supply issues and lower wind power output.

Delays in taking Norway's Troll gas field out of maintenance reduced Norwegian gas flows by 12 million cubic meters per day on Thursday morning, according to TSO Gassco.

The field, which typically produces 133 million cubic meters per day, was shut down on Monday and Tuesday.

Despite this, Norwegian gas flows to Europe increased to 279.9 million cubic meters per day from 264 million cubic meters per day on Wednesday.

Wind speeds are also expected to decrease significantly across northwestern Europe, especially Germany, and fall below the seasonal average in the coming weeks.

In addition, the Austrian company OMV said on Wednesday that gas supplies from Russia's Gazprom may be stopped due to a foreign court decision.

UK natural gas futures hit their highest level in almost five months, topping 87 pence for the period, amid supply issues and lower wind power output.

Total Norwegian exports to the UK fell by 26 million cubic meters (mcm) to 32 million cubic meters per day, with volumes diverted to mainland Europe.

In addition, the expected reduction in wind power capacity will lead to increased demand for gas from power plants.

Meanwhile, National Grid hit the headlines after announcing a plan to raise almost £7 billion from shareholders.

This will support £60 billion of spending to upgrade networks to support the low-carbon energy transition.