EU Gas Prices Soar as Depleted Reserves and ECB Warnings Drive Inflation Risks

European wholesale gas prices surged on Wednesday, pushing higher for a second day as depleted storage reserves and warnings from European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers about inflation risks continued to anchor prices.

The benchmark Dutch TTF gained 2.7% to trade around 82.00 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), resuming its advance after taking a brief pause on Tuesday, while the equivalent British gas price climbed 2.5% to reach 203.00 pence per therm, further into multi-year peak territory.

The renewed momentum in European natural gas curves underscores compounding physical supply anxieties as the injection season nears its conclusion. Underground storage caverns across the EU are currently sitting at roughly 68% of capacity, trailing the five-year seasonal average by approximately 16 percentage points and leaving energy buffers thin heading into autumn.

European utilities are now forced to refill reserves at near-record prices as Persian Gulf transit disruptions severely restrict liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. ECB policymakers have sounded alarm, warning that natural gas and electricity costs - rather than crude oil - have become the top threat to the regional price outlook.