Whether this strong trading performance continues into the second half of the year will depend on risk management appetite as Europe refills its low underground storage facilities and helps attract spot LNG cargoes ahead of and during the high-demand winter season.
Total European natural gas trading volumes, both executed bilaterally and through exchanges, in the first half of 2026 grew 19% year on year to 67,542 terawatt hours (6.08 trillion cubic meters), according to data from trading platform Trayport. Some 70% of those trades were executed via exchanges during the first half.
The increased activity has been in part attributed to the hedging needs to manage the disruption to Qatari and Emirati LNG exports following the breakout of the Mideast war at the end of February. A cold snap and strong storage withdrawals earlier in 2026 also drove trading volumes earlier in the year.
“While geopolitical events such as the US-Iran conflict further boosted activity later in the period, trading volumes were already elevated at the beginning of the year, reflecting increased market participation and more active risk management,” Balint Koncz, head of gas trading at Swiss-based trader Met International, tells Energy Intelligence. “Higher traded volumes should not be interpreted as higher physical gas demand but rather as increased liquidity and risk transfer.”
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