European natural gas prices shot to record highs on Tuesday, dragging down bond markets in a sign that investors were expecting wider economic damage.
European gas contracts for delivery in November leapt 23 per cent to €117.50 a megawatt hour, up from just €18 six months ago, on the prospect of supply shortages over winter. UK prices also soared, breaching £3 a therm for the first time, with prices tripling in the past two months.
The latest price gains mean gas in the UK and Europe is trading at more than $200 a barrel of oil equivalent — or almost three times the price of crude — with inflationary effects threatening to ripple through economies reliant on gas for heating and power generation.