Escalating Winter Storm Effects: Natural Gas Prices Face Bigger Swings Than in the Past
EU’s Gas Import Mix: Russian Flows through TurkStream Jump 10.8% YoY (With 6 Charts)
EU’s Gas Import Mix: Russian Flows through TurkStream Jump 10.8% YoY
Source: Kpler, 2026
As of January 31, 2026, European gas inventories fell to about 41% capacity—the lowest since 2022—driven by colder weather and supply concerns after a U.S. winter storm. European buyers sourced LNG from as far as Australia in late January to offset potential U.S. shortages. Stocks were well below the five-year average (2021-2025), as shown in Figure 1.
Due to limited LNG supply from bad weather in the U.S. and colder European temperatures, TTF prices rose to $11.8/MMBtu in January from $9.5 in December. In Asia, JKM spot prices slightly increased to $10.4/MMBtu. Consequently, the JKM-TTF price gap widened to $1.4/MMBtu, highlighting differing market conditions.