A rise above €90 per megawatt-hour in European gas futures puts attention on how quickly Persian Gulf liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports recover during winter, a key condition in Goldman Sachs' price outlook.
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, a quote for the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) benchmark's front-month contract reached €90.10 per megawatt-hour at 7:21 a.m. ET (11:21 UTC). It was the first time the contract had topped €90 since December 2022, and the figure was an intraday quote.
Goldman Sachs' Sept. 23, 2026, outlook estimated Persian Gulf LNG exports at 15% to 25% of prewar volumes at that time. The bank projected a fourth-quarter 2026 European gas price average of €70 per megawatt-hour under a scenario of gradual export recovery.
Goldman said that if exports remained very low, prices might need to exceed €100 per megawatt-hour during peak winter demand to discourage LNG purchases elsewhere. That could leave more cargoes available to Europe while increasing costs for gas buyers.
An earlier EconoTimes report on European Union (EU) gas inventories put storage at 74.1% of capacity on Oct. 16 and noted competition between European and Asian buyers for LNG cargoes.
EU rules allow countries to meet a 90% storage target at any point from Oct. 1 through Dec. 1. Difficult filling conditions allow up to 10 percentage points of flexibility. The target window closes Dec. 1.
