Europe May Avoid Gas Crunch This Winter and Next, Trafigura Says

Mild weather across Europe in recent weeks is setting the region up to avoid a natural gas shortage for winter this year and next, according to Trafigura Group, one of the world’s biggest commodity traders.

Europe’s gas inventories are likely to drain by roughly two-thirds this winter, provided there’s regular weather and Russian flows continue through Ukraine, said Trafigura Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Weir. That means the region will be able to survive the upcoming winter period, and could have enough of a fuel buffer to help avoid a crunch next year too, he added.