European natural gas futures surged to near a four-week high on Tuesday after the German energy regulator suspended the approval process of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Germany’s energy watchdog Bundesnetzagentur said it would resume the certification process after the Swiss-based consortium behind the project needed to set up a German subsidiary as required by the German law.
Month-ahead gas prices settled 18% up at €94.32 ($107.09) per MWh as of 5:30 PM in Amsterdam. Prices have climbed more than threefold since the beginning of the year as European inventories remain below average. Besides lower Russian supplies, weak domestic production and high Asian LNG demand have also driven up the region’s gas prices. Furthermore, some parts of Europe are expected to see below-average temperatures for the coming weeks.
