European Gas Prices Ease After Multi-Day Rally
European and British natural gas prices eased on Thursday after a dramatic multi-day rally that pushed benchmark curves past highs set during the Middle East conflict.
The benchmark Dutch front-month contract fell by 1.7% to 72.23 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), stepping back from its peak of 74.32 euros reached earlier in the week.
In Great Britain, the equivalent price dropped by 2.7% to 178.08 pence per therm, pulling back after breaching 183 pence in the previous session, which was its highest level since late 2023.
Trading desks described Thursday's price action as a technical breath of relief rather than a fundamental shift in market sentiment, with profit-taking taking hold across European energy hubs.
Despite the short-term retreat, underlying geopolitical risk premia remain heavily priced into forward curves due to ongoing tensions and direct military engagements between U.S. forces and Iran, which continue to threaten global liquefied natural gas (LNG) transit routes.