European natural gas benchmark prices rose by more than 30% on Tuesday as limited deliveries from Russia raised concerns about a possible energy crisis at a time when the continent is heading for a period with low temperatures, Reuters reports.

According to traders, the Yamal pipeline, one of the main pipelines for the delivery of natural gas from Siberia to Europe, continued to operate in reverse on Tuesday, for the 15th day in a row, which means that instead of sending Russian natural gas to Europe, delivers gas from Germany to Poland. At the same time, Russian gas supplies from Ukraine to Slovakia were also low.

In this context, on the TTF exchange in Amsterdam, gas futures quotations for next month’s delivery rose by 27.50 euros on Tuesday, reaching around 11.41 GMT to the value of 99.50 euros for a Megawatt-hour, while the quotations for the day ahead contracts increased by 30.50 euros to 97 euros for a Megawatt-hour, according to Agerpres.

Weather forecasts for a drop in temperatures in Europe have also put pressure on rising gas prices, but low deliveries in Russia have been the main factor behind rising prices, a trader was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Europe has been at the epicenter of an energy crisis since last year, when removing restrictions imposed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic generated high energy demand at a time when natural gas stocks were low. Reference prices have risen fivefold since January last year, putting pressure on consumers and businesses.

Some European parliamentarians have accused Russia, which is responsible for 40% of the natural gas consumed by the EU bloc, of using the crisis as a tool to obtain a permit to operate the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Russia denies the allegations, but points out that Nord Stream 2 will increase gas exports which will lead to lower prices in Europe.