OREANDA-NEWS. U.S. February natural gas prices rose sharply by 72% on January 27, the highest increase on record. This is evidenced by trading data.

The increase in gas prices in the US is due to the fact that investors rushed to buy the expiring contract due to warnings from meteorologists about prolonged cold weather.

On January 27, during the day, February futures were at $4.5 per MMBtu (British thermal unit). But in the final hour of trading, the price surged to $7.4, a 72% gain. As a result, the auction ended with the gas price at $6.3 per MMBtu.

On January 28, at the opening of trading, gas futures in the US are growing moderately. As of 13:55 Moscow time, March futures on the New York Stock Exchange rose by 2.4% to $4.38 per MMBtu.

On January 10, Bloomberg reported that Russian gas was being forced out of the EU markets by American gas. For example, supplies from the US help offset flows from Russia, which have recently become limited. Thus, flows at liquefied natural gas terminals in northwestern Europe are at the highest level since December 2019, the agency notes.

Supplies from the US are helping to offset flows from Russia that have become tighter of late.

According to the agency, LNG exports from the United States are now profitable to Asia, and already in March and April to Europe, but more LNG is already flowing into the EU after rising prices at the end of 2021 made this region the most attractive market.