Europe Gas Jumps as Supply Fears Return With Planned Pipe Works

Natural gas prices in Europe extended their gains as fears of a long-term halt in supplies through a major pipe backfired.

The benchmark futures closed at a record high on Friday. There are concerns that the link won't return to service as planned after the work is done. Europe has been on edge about shipments through the link for weeks, with supplies restarting only at very low levels the last time it was shut for work.

Germany called on Moscow to conserve energy. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said during a visit to Canada that there was a critical winter ahead of them. We have to expect more reductions in gas from Putin.

European authorities have repeatedly warned of the possibility of a complete shut down of Russian gas supplies. It is unlikely that Germany will be able to replace all Russian imports. Extending the life of nuclear plants would represent an U-turn in the country's energy politics.

The turbine that pumps gas into the link needs to be fixed. European politicians insist the curbs are not politically motivated, despite the fact that the line has only 20% capacity for weeks.

Germany may resort to nuclear plants to plug the Russian gas gap.

The European benchmark rose to 278.25 euros a megawatt-hour at 8:16 a.m. It went up for a fifth week in a row on Friday.

Iain Rogers assisted.