European factories brace for winter as gas prices soar amid supply shock
Rising gas costs and dwindling storage are forcing European manufacturers, including Bridgnorth Aluminium in the UK, to cut output and consider early maintenance this winter.
Renewed fighting between the US and Iran has caused natural-gas prices to double in two months, reaching a three-year peak in the UK and the EU and prompting fears of further hikes during the colder months. British wholesale gas hit 205p per therm, while European gas reserves sit at about 67% of capacity, well below the seasonal average. Bridgnorth Aluminium in Shropshire, which supplies rolled aluminium for packaging, construction and batteries, now pays roughly £1.1 million a month for gas and electricity, prompting the firm to consider an early maintenance break and a longer holiday shutdown.
Trade bodies such as Eurometal and Eurofer warn that sustained high energy costs could force production cuts, job losses and even plant closures across the Mittelstand, steel, automotive and chemicals industries. Companies like Huntsman Corporation flag the risk of shutting down their remaining UK plant if prices do not fall. The combined pressure of energy scarcity and competition from lower-cost producers threatens the competitiveness of European manufacturing this winter.
Why it matters
Soaring gas prices and low reserves threaten European factories, jobs and the region's economic stability this winter.
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