Italy Became Europe's Top LNG Importer in July as German Gas Storage Fell to Its Lowest Since 2009

Italy became Europe's largest importer of liquefied natural gas in July 2026. Bloomberg reported on Friday, 31 July 2026, that Italian traders kept buying cargoes by making use of government incentives, while neighbouring countries held back on costly purchases and allowed storage levels to lag. According to Bloomberg ship-tracking data going back to 2017, this is the first time Italy has taken the top spot.

War and supply disruptions in West Asia have caused European gas prices to roughly double so far this year, and European gas futures have added more than 30% in July alone. Italy's power sector is the most reliant on gas in Europe and its energy needs jumped during recent heat waves; the country's storage regulation also carries strict refilling targets and fines for missing them.

Italy's gas storage sites are currently 75% full, below the five-year seasonal average but the highest among Europe's top markets. Germany's facilities are at 47%, the lowest share of utilised capacity for this time of year in records going back to 2009, while France's inventories are 56% full. According to Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs sees the possibility of prices reaching 100 euros a megawatt hour in December if the market remains tight, some 75% above current levels.