EU Gas Storage Is Depleting at the Fastest Rate Since the Energy Crisis

Forex - Colder weather and a decrease in imports via sea routes have increased demand while the EU is depleting its gas storage facilities at the fastest rate since the energy crisis three years ago. According to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe, an industry association cited by the FT, the volume of gas in the bloc's storage sites has decreased by about 19% from the end of the filling season in late September to mid-December. In the previous two years, only single-digit declines were observed during the same period, as above-normal temperatures kept the storages relatively full throughout the winter heating season, and industries reduced demand due to high prices. Natasha Fielding, head of European gas pricing at Argus Media, stated, "Europe has had to rely much more on underground storage this winter to compensate for the decrease in liquefied natural gas imports and to meet stronger demand compared to the last two years." The EU's storage levels are currently at 75%, just slightly above the average of the last decade before Western European governments began efforts to reduce their dependence on Russian imports. Storage levels were nearly 90% as of mid-December last year.