European and British wholesale natural gas prices saw a slight uptick on Wednesday, as cooler-than-expected forecasts for Northwestern Europe countered ongoing storage injections. The benchmark Dutch TTF contract rose 1.5% to 76.80 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), holding near multi-week highs. In the UK, the NBP contract gained 0.5% to 189.03 pence per therm.
Updated weather models indicating cooler temperatures in the coming weeks have triggered early hedging ahead of the heating season. This weather-driven demand offset the steady accumulation of gas in European storage facilities, which currently sit at 73% capacity, below levels from the same period last year.
Analysts note that broader structural and geopolitical risks continue to support gas prices. Persistent security threats in the Persian Gulf and drone attacks on regional energy infrastructure have kept a war-risk premium in LNG deliveries. Investment banks, including UBS, have revised their fourth-quarter Dutch TTF price targets upward to €75/MWh, citing sluggish LNG supply recovery and the phased-out Russian pipeline gas.
While storage levels are improving, the market remains vulnerable to sudden demand spikes. Any sustained cold snap could push prices higher, reinforcing the current upward momentum in European gas markets.