A rally in global natural gas prices cooled as traders eye the latest signs of volatility on the Russian-Ukrainian border, but searing heat and a possible spike in Asian demand are still lurking.
Several days after Ukrainian forces pushed into Russian territory and captured a key pipeline gas intake point in Sudzha, contract prices have slightly retreated or floated around the same levels in some cases.
“All eyes on the gas market remain on the situation in Southern Russia following the Ukrainian offensive earlier this month, which has led to fighting close to the important pipeline which transports Russian gas to Southern Europe,” analysts with energy trading firm Energi Danmark wrote in a note. “The market has for long feared that the pipeline could be damaged but for now, this has not happened yet.”