European gas storage reached 40% of capacity in the week ending May 31, according to a Jefferies report. That metric is 16% lower than storage at the same point in 2025 and 25% below the five-year average.
During the reporting week, inventories rose by 2.5 billion cubic meters (bcm). That weekly addition fell short of the five-year weekly average of 2.6 bcm and was below last year’s weekly build of 3.0 bcm. Total inventories now sit at roughly 45 bcm, compared with 54 bcm at the same point in 2025 and a five-year average of 61 bcm.
Price action reflected these fundamentals: TTF forward gas contracts moved higher over the week, according to Jefferies.
On the demand side, North West Europe - defined in the report as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK and France - recorded a 4% year-over-year decline in gas demand for the week, equivalent to a reduction of 14 million cubic meters per day.
LNG shipments into Europe also moderated. For the week, LNG imports totaled 1.3 bcm, a 24% decrease versus the same week last year. Despite the weekly drop, year-to-date LNG send-outs for 2026 were reported as 3% higher year-over-year, at 1.1 bcm.
Germany, which Jefferies estimates accounts for about 36% of North West Europe demand, showed divergent dynamics within the week. Industry consumption in week 20 rose 17% year-over-year, while household consumption climbed 70% year-over-year. Looking at year-to-date figures, German industry consumption was 3% higher year-over-year, while household consumption was 3% lower.
The combination of lower-than-average weekly injections, inventories lagging both last year and the five-year norm, reduced weekly LNG arrivals, and a pickup in some regional consumption components contributed to the upward movement in TTF forward prices reported for the week.
Methodological note - Figures and comparisons are drawn directly from the Jefferies weekly storage and flows summary for the week ending May 31. Where the report provides explicit year-over-year or five-year comparison percentages and volumetric statistics, those have been preserved.