Editor’s Note: This column is part of a regular series by industry veteran Brad Hitch for NGI’s LNG Insight dedicated to addressing the complexities of the global natural gas market.

Notwithstanding the fact that temperatures in Northwest Europe can stay cool through April or later, March 31 is a good date to think of as the “end of winter” for European gas markets. 

It is exactly six months after the start of the traditional European Gas Year under long-term contract structures and represents the last day of physical delivery for Winter TTF seasonal contracts.

In my last column, we touched on the high levels of storage that Europe is carrying into the summer injection season. We’re going to continue the current series covering different aspects of global gas...