Natural gas prices have risen by 10% since the beginning of the year, influenced by cold weather and supply risks.

The price of natural gas in Europe has surged nearly 10% since the beginning of the year, supported by strong heating demand, a large number of speculative short positions, and increasingly intensifying geopolitical risks. Analysts at DNB said that cold weather is leading to strong natural gas demand in Northwest Europe, while inventories are decreasing faster than usual and are significantly lower than the same period last year and historical norms. Meanwhile, escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are also driving up prices, as Qatar, a major player in global liquefied natural gas trade, ships from the Persian Gulf. In late trading, the benchmark Dutch TTF natural gas futures contract rose by 1.9% to 30.82 euros per megawatt hour, briefly surpassing 32 euros earlier in the session.