OREANDA-NEWS  The cost of natural gas in Europe has risen to its highest level in two years. March futures at the TTF hub in the Netherlands, which is a benchmark for the region, are trading at $620 per thousand cubic meters, which was last seen in February 2023, Bloomberg reports.

The reason for the increase of more than five percent on Monday, February 10, was the expected cold snap in the northwestern part of Europe, which increases demand for heating.

An additional negative factor remains the minimum gas reserves in European storage facilities over the past three years. By mid—February, they are only 49 percent full, compared with 67 percent a year earlier, which will affect purchases in the summer.