Natural gas prices in the U.K. and Europe briefly spiked on Monday, after a report that Russia’s Gazprom may not send more supplies as expected following recent comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin. European natural gas futures – based on benchmark November Title Transfer Facility (TTF) futures in the Netherlands — climbed to 107.70 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) before easing back to 94.82 euros, with similar rollercoaster moves seen for U.K. futures . That’s after a closely watched pipeline capacity auction on Monday showed no rise in supplies, according to media reports on Monday. The pipelines run through the Ukraine and Poland. Putin recently said he would help Europe with its pipeline shortages, but some accuse his country of trying to weaponize natural gas supplies to speed up EU approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The U.K. and Europe are heavily reliant on Russia for natural gas supplies, and prices have been soaring this year in part due to higher demand from Asia and elsewhere.
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