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Ulviyya Poladova

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Germany is heading into the winter season with gas reserves significantly below the required target level, the Financial Times (FT) reports.

According to the newspaper, Germany’s gas storage facilities are currently around 62% full, well below the legally mandated 80% level that storage operators are required to reach before the start of the heating season.

The European Union as a whole is also entering winter with gas reserves significantly below historical averages. Storage facilities across the bloc are less than 75% full.

Germany is the EU’s largest gas consumer and has the bloc’s biggest storage capacity.

In October, Politico reported that the EU could face its largest gas shortfall in years this winter, potentially reaching 14 billion cubic metres, as European storage facilities were only 72% full.

Earlier reports warned that Europe could face an expensive winter amid instability in global energy markets.