Mild weather pushed Europe gas prices to lowest level since September

Gas futures in Europe fell 9.8% on Friday to end the week with a loss of 28%. Weather in many parts of Europe is expected to be milder in early January, which means that residents will not need to use much heat. In addition to this, a full storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and lower industrial demand, which is typical for this season, were among factors pulling prices down. 

Even the winter storm in the US threatening exports hasn’t affected the trading session much. Such extreme weather events happen once per decade, and now they may disrupt fuel exports from the Gulf Coast and delay restart of Freeport LNG, an export plant in Texas. 

According to analysts at trading firm Energi Danmark A/S, mild weather continues to be a prevailing factor pushing the prices down. 

Freeport LNG said Friday that it didn’t anticipate the restart of its facility until the second half of January 2023. The company expected to partially restart operations in December and resume full operations in March. However, it still awaits regulatory approval.