BRUSSELS/BONN (dpa-AFX) - The wintry temperatures continue to cause falling levels in German gas storage facilities. For the second day in a row, they fell by more than one percentage point each, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the European Gas Storage Association (EIG).

On Wednesday morning, the level was at 83.8 percent. Germany's largest storage facility in Rehden, Lower Saxony, continued to record a fill level of 90.3 percent. Since January 13, this value is almost unchanged. EU-wide, the fill level was last at 76.4 percent, 0.7 percentage points lower than the previous day.

Levels in Germany have been falling overall since January 9. Prior to this - unseasonally - storage had been in place for more than two weeks.

The storage facilities compensate for fluctuations in gas consumption and thus form a buffer system for the market. Levels usually decrease after the start of the heating season in the fall. On the morning of November 14, a fill level of 100 percent had been recorded. On February 1, the storage facilities should still be 40 percent full, according to the Energy Industry Act.

It should be noted that gas continues to flow permanently to Germany through pipeline imports, on Tuesday from Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium, according to the Federal Network Agency. Meanwhile, Germany also receives natural gas via LNG terminals on German coasts./tob/DP/mis