Prices rise at European gas hubs to two-year high after Poland blocks OPAL
MOSCOW. Feb 1 (Interfax) - Gas prices grew on the European spot market on Wednesday due to a drop in gas supplies via the Nord Stream pipeline after Poland blocked some of the capacity of OPAL, the pipeline's eastern offshoot.
On the National Balancing Point (NBP), within-day prices reached 58.46 pence per therm ($261 per thousand cubic meters), up from $248 at closing on Tuesday. The last time prices were this high was almost two years ago in March 2015. As of now, the price has corrected back to $257.
Next day prices on the main European hub, TTF in the Netherlands, rose to $249, up from $236 yesterday and closed at $246.
The Baumgarten hub in Austria saw prices rise to $253 compared with $244 yesterday.
Russia's Gazprom has two sources of gas left when pipeline supplies are restricted: gas in underground storage in Europe, and the spot market, where it and its clients can turn to make any shortfall up. Also, the latest weather forecasts suggest Europe is in for a new cold spell next week.
