Natural gas prices in Europe on Monday slumped to their lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine in February as weak demand and the steady arrival of liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes have combined to weigh down benchmarks. 

Storage inventories are filling rapidly as the continent races to displace Russian supplies. Inventories were at about 43% of capacity Monday, compared to the five-year average of 46% for this time of year. 

“LNG vessels continue to head to Northwest Europe for regasification with gas export pipelines from the region now at capacity, as a result spot prices for LNG in Asia are trading higher than Europe,” said Rystad Energy analyst Lu Ming Pang.

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