Natural gas prices in Europe hit a new three-year high. The main reason is that traders are rushing to fill fuel storage facilities before the winter season, awaiting details of an agreement between Iran and Oman on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, reports Bloomberg.
Benchmark gas futures rose 3.4% on September 8, reaching their highest level since January 2023. The agency notes that although Tehran announced an upcoming agreement that would include temporary safe passage, traders are still unsure how the United States will respond to attacks on Iranian tankers over the weekend, and the risk of attacks on ships remains high. European gas storage facilities are currently only 67% full, compared to a seasonal norm of 83%.
It was previously reported that in late August and early September 2026, against the backdrop of the lowest underground gas storage (UGS) stocks on record, Europe decided to increase gas injections into UGS for the winter at the highest prices in four years. The average gas injection rates into EU underground storage facilities in early September are at one of the highest levels in recent years.
Europe risks starting the heating season with record low gas stocks. The average filling rates of underground storage facilities in EU countries in July were among the lowest since records began in 2011, and accelerated only slightly in August. Given these figures, Europe could only fill its storage facilities to 70-75% by the traditional start of the autumn-winter period, which would be the absolute minimum for the start of the heating season in history.
The pace of filling storage capacity this year was significantly affected by the lost “battle“ with Asia for available capacity in the liquefied natural gas market during the conflict in the Middle East, higher fuel prices and extreme heat in June and July. During such summer periods, the demand for electricity for cooling systems and air conditioning increases sharply. Natural gas is one of the main sources of electricity generation, along with nuclear, wind and solar energy.