European wholesale natural gas prices fell for a third consecutive session on Thursday, slipping to over one-week lows as the resolution of a labor strike in France restored sendout capacity from a key import terminal, offering temporary relief to tight energy curves.

The benchmark Dutch front-month TTF contract dropped 1.23% to trade around 76.98 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), marking its lowest level in over a week as prompt supply pressure eased.

In Great Britain, the equivalent NBP wholesale gas contract similarly fell 1.23% to hold flat around 191.00 pence per therm, also anchoring at one-week lows.

The primary catalyst driving the downward momentum across European gas hubs was the conclusion of a 24-hour labor strike across France’s energy sector, which had constrained gas deliveries into the continental grid.

Industrial action 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 (GWh) per day down to just 4 GWh per day.

With work stoppages ending and operations normalizing across French nuclear and gas infrastructure, regasification rates at Dunkirk have begun recovering toward baseline capacity.
The return of French export flows across cross-border interconnectors provided immediate downside pressure to prompt European contracts, overshadowing broader supply risks across the Persian Gulf.

EU gas storage crawls to 68.5% as winter deficit persists
Despite the multi-session retreat in wholesale prices, the broader physical backdrop remains underpinned by structural supply vulnerabilities as the injection season enters its final stretch.

Data from Gas Infrastructure Europe shows underground storage caverns across the European Union have crept up to 68.5% capacity.

Reserves remain severely depleted compared to historical norms, lagging the five-year seasonal average by roughly 16 percentage points at a point in the calendar when facilities typically approach full saturation.

Central bank policy marathon Keeps risks high
The pull-back across European gas hubs coincides with a high-stakes week for global monetary policy, following interest rate hikes by both the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve.

With central bankers emphasizing that sticky energy input costs remain the primary driver of headline inflation, energy desks are keeping risk premia elevated across winter contracts.

Source: Investing.com