Russia Keeps Gas Market on Edge With No Sign of Increasing Flows

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN on Sunday there’s “a distinct possibility that there will be major military action very soon.” Russia has repeatedly denied it plans to invade its neighbor.

Gazprom still has an option to use daily bookings, which it has used in the past. But the lack of longer-term certainty means that European prices will probably remain volatile, and benchmark European gas futures surged as much as 14% on Monday before the auctions.

Robust liquefied natural gas deliveries to the continent, as well as mild weather, brought some relief recently. However Europe will need much more gas to replenish its depleted inventories ahead of next winter.

There was some extra capacity booked on Monday for month-ahead supplies from Ukraine to Slovakia, a major transit route for Russian flows. A similar booking was made for January and February, but actual flows were far below allocated volumes.