European gas prices have reached multi-month highs because of a winter storm in the US and worries about storage.

Dutch and British gas contract prices surged on Monday morning to their highest levels in almost 10 months, driven by freezing weather in the U.S. that limited LNG exports. This situation has also raised alarms about European gas storage capacities.

Data from LSEG indicates that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract for megawatt hours (MWh) at the 'TTF' hub increased by 2.55 euros to 41.95 euros, or $14.56/mmBtu at 0825 GMT. It has hit its highest point since early April 2025 at 42.75 Euros/MWh.

Additionally, the Dutch day-ahead contracts rose by 1.85 Euros to 42.45 EUR/MWh. The day-ahead price for British gas was up by 7.58 pence, reaching 110.33 pence/therm. Month-ahead prices climbed by 6.3 cents to 109.00 pence/therm, marking their highest level since early March 2025. A severe winter storm that impacted much of the U.S. over the weekend disrupted energy supplies, including gas production.

LSEG analyst Wayne Bryan noted a continued decrease in feed gas for U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas plants during the weekend. He stated that "this dynamic is likely to be the main driver today," particularly considering the significance of U.S. LNG imports for Europe and the current EU storage levels.

Bryan also mentioned that increased demand is anticipated for European spot prices and near-term prices next week, as well as over the weekend. Data from Gas Infrastructure Europe shows that EU gas storage sites are operating at only 45.6% capacity, which is 15 percentage points below the five-year average.

Arne Lohmann-Rasmussen, the chief analyst at Global Risk Management, reported that natural gas prices in the U.S. have risen to their highest since December 2022, trading at $6.29 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).

ING analysts pointed out that TTF prices have recently risen due to competition in Asia for LNG supplies, indicating that more cargoes are likely to be directed toward Europe. Furthermore, the benchmark contract on the European carbon markets increased by 0.15 euro to 88.55 Euros per metric ton.