(Bloomberg) -- European gas storage levels may have started to drop, the latest sign that the region's energy crisis is getting worse.
Inventories showed marginal declines on Thursday and Saturday, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.
The measure could still show days with some gains for another couple of weeks, but it's still a worrying indication for traders and utilities as the cold weather is closing in and demand will only increase. Normally, the key indicator doesn't start to drop until late October.
Stocks are at their lowest in more than a decade for this time of year. To make matters worse, Germany is expected to be colder than usual from Oct. 10 with temperatures in northwest Europe forecast to dip below normal from the middle of the month, according to the GFS model on Bloomberg, using Weather Co. data.
Vitol SA, one of the world's largest traders, had forecast that Europe would enter the cold season in October or November with gas storage about 78% full, making for a “very tight” situation.
The official heating season for the gas market began on Friday.
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