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Investing.com - US natural gas prices rose Friday, as demand continued to rise amid colder weather forecasts, leading to a surge in withdrawals from storage.
At 08:50 ET (13:50 GMT), natural gas prices rose 1.9% to $3.699 per million British thermal units, or MMBtu, over 13% higher over the course of the last week.
The U.S. National Weather Service indicated that heavy snow will shift from the mountains of the West during Friday into the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes this weekend, while an icy mix spreads from the Appalachians into the Northeast U.S.
Conditions are also cold in northern Europe, meaning that European gas storage stood at 47% full at the start of this week, 5% below the 5-year average and 20% lower than in 2024, according to analysts at UBS, in a note.
“In our gas note published earlier this week, we estimated exit storage levels in the high-30s%, vs. 58% at end March 2024 and 41% of the 5-year average,” UBS added.
Additionally, total U.S. inventories now stand 3% below the 5-year average, with storage utilisation at 54%, below the 5-year average of 56%.
Market sentiment has also been impacted by geopolitical events, especially the potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Expectations of resumed flows from Russia to Europe briefly lower gas prices, but a great deal of uncertainty still exists over the longer term. Additionally, discussions within the European Union over the powers to temporarily cap EU gas prices.
Europe's gas and energy trading industries have come out strongly against such a move, saying it would have far-reaching negative consequences for the stability of European energy markets and the security of supply across the continent.