Germany faces an imminent cold snap with natural gas inventories well below their 15-year seasonal average, leaving Europe's largest economy with a limited buffer against back-to-back cold blasts. Prolonged cold would accelerate storage withdrawals and increase dependence on costly replacement LNG supplies from international markets.
European NatGas prices are trading north of 100 euros per megawatt-hour.
Germany's gas storage was about 61.2% full on Saturday, short of the 70% average it was supposed to reach by Sunday, according to AGSI figures reported by the German news agency DPA. The miss comes as Europe heads into an early cold spell. As we reported, European gas crossed the 100-euro "psychological mark" on Oct. 28 on winter supply fears.
The target is a blend of two rules. The Federal Network Agency's storage page sets 80% as the November 1 level for every site, and 45% for six named ones: Bad Lauchstädt, Frankenthal, Hähnlein, Rehden, Stockstadt and Uelsen. The agency's overall requirement works o
