Traders delay Russian gas imports as they expect cheap future deliveries

London

Europe is accelerating withdrawals from natural gas inventories as traders delay imports of Russian fuel poised to fall with oil.

The amount of gas taken from storage sites in the 28-nation European Union rose 44 per cent from a year earlier since the heating season started on Oct 1, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed. Russian flows to most of Europe and Turkey slid 29 per cent last month from a year earlier after falling by a quarter in November, according to OAO Gazprom in Moscow.

Russian gas supplies, usually tied to oil prices with a six- to nine-month lag, will be cheaper in the summer as crude's 58 per cent decline since June filters into long-term contracts. The collapse in oil is a "huge incentive" for traders to buy as little Russian gas as possible now in favour of future deliveries, Citigroup said in a Jan 20 re…