LONDON — European wholesale gas prices jumped on Monday to levels not seen since 2022, as temperatures fell and fears grew over winter supply and the Middle East.
Prices hit €97 (£81) a megawatt-hour, and the UK month-ahead contract rose 4% to 240p a therm, its highest since December 2022, The Guardian reported.
Traders are pricing in more heating demand along with the risk of further supply disruption in the Middle East, amid reports that the US and Israel have drawn up plans for renewed strikes on Iran after the US midterm elections. Those reports pushed oil as high as $117 a barrel on Friday. Brent eased about 2% on Monday but stayed above $114.
Europe is heading into winter with gas stores at their lowest in more than a decade, about 75% full against a seasonal average near 80%. The shortfall follows a slowdown in exports from Qatar and heavy summer use for cooling.
British household energy bills are forecast to rise 16% in January, to about £2,000 a year for a typical dual-fuel bill.
Sources: The Guardian
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