European natural gas prices dropped to their lowest level in more than a week on Wednesday after a 24-hour labor strike across France's energy sector ended, removing a supply disruption that had pressured benchmark contracts.
The Dutch TTF front-month contract fell 1.23% to around 76.98 euros per megawatt-hour, marking its lowest point in over a week. Britain's NBP wholesale gas contract also declined 1.23%, holding flat near 191.00 pence per therm, similarly anchoring at one-week lows.
The strike, carried out by French energy unions on Tuesday, had forced Belgian terminal operator Fluxys to slash sendout capacity at the Dunkirk LNG terminal—France's largest import facility—from a minimum of 9.4 gigawatt-hours per day down to 4 GWh per day. The resolution of industrial action should help restore operations at the facility.
EU underground storage caverns held gas at approximately 68.5% capacity as of early September, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe. Reserves remain roughly 16 percentage points below the five-year seasonal average, leaving a notable gap despite the gradual filling of storage ahead of winter demand.
The price pullback comes during a high-stakes week for global monetary policy following recent interest rate hikes by both the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve. Central bankers have emphasized that sticky energy input costs remain the primary driver of headline inflation, keeping gas markets closely watched by policymakers and traders alike.
