Business NewsAugust 2, 2019 / 8:05 AM / Updated 5 hours ago
European gas price slump yet to find a floor as inventories burst
Nina Chestney, Sabina Zawadzki
5 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - A protracted decline in European gas prices, which has hurt some energy firms but may prove a boon to buyers, has yet to find a floor as low summer demand could boost gas storage tanks close to chock-full amid soaring global supply.
FILE PHOTO: A view shows pipelines at a gas processing facility, operated by Gazprom, at Bovanenkovo gas field on the Arctic Yamal peninsula, Russia May 21, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
British and Dutch prices, benchmarks for Europe-wide gas sales as well as some liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets, have lost half of their value since last September. They hit 10-year lows in June, weighed down by an influx of LNG and gas supplies from Russia, the United States and others.
Gas prices tend to fall during the summer but this year’s slump was uncharacteristic as it began in the winter months, when prices traditionally rise, and has been accompanied by a larger-than-normal build-up in inventories.