The European high natural gas prices are forcing the energy industry in the continent to secure supplies of LNG to store for next winter, as Norwegian fertiliser company “Yara” noted last week.
Less LNG is available for Europe currently, while high coal prices are making the need for a switch to another fuel important, Yara’s head of market intelligence, Dag Tore Mo was cited as saying by Reuters.
Moreover, last winter was extremely cold for Europe, something that made the need for heating even greater. This resulted in Europe having low stocks, and caused a competition for buying gas for next winter, Mr. Mo added.
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This keeps the switch flat and at at around current levels over the summer. Furthermore, Chinese and South Korean demand for LNG has also increased prices, Dag Tore Mo concluded.