Natural gas prices are continuing to climb as droughts in Europe, exacerbated by the current heatwave, have created an increased demand for gas, according to the Dutch TTF Gas Futures market.
On Tuesday morning, the price of natural gas in Europe jumped 5% to €232 euros per MWh. It had already risen 7% on Monday.
As a result of the drought and heat, water levels in rivers are decreasing, which could disrupt the transportation of raw materials such as oil and coal.
This is particularly true with the Rhine, where the water level is so low that shipping is no longer considered profitable.
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As a result, power plant operators have become even more reliant on natural gas, at a time when the market was already under pressure.
Furthermore, Russia is only supplying Germany with 20% of Gazprom's natural gas pipeline capacity.
This is due to issues with a turbine that cannot be provided, according to the Russian company, but Germany has asserted that this is an excuse by the Kremlin to cut Europe off their gas supply.
