European natural gas prices edged higher, following seven days of declines, with Russian supplies through Ukraine expected to fall on Tuesday.
Orders dropped to about 68 per cent of the amount that Gazprom PJSC can send under its transit contract. Flows through another pipeline, the Nord Stream, were near full capacity, data showed. The Russian company has repeatedly said its pipeline supplies match demand from European customers.
Flows through these pipelines tend to vary daily. While Russian shipments haven’t yet been affected by the war, even increasing on some days, they have been under intense scrutiny for months. The invasion of Ukraine has also forced European nations to start looking for alternate shipments.
Italy on Monday agreed to boost imports from Algeria to reduce its dependence on Russian flows, which currently make up about 40 per cent of its demand. The additional flows will start this year and ramp up later.
Benchmark Dutch front-month gas futures rose 3.2 per cent to 103.30 euros per megawatt-hour as of 8.30am in Amsterdam. – Bloomberg
