This is due to the reduction of gas consumption for heating.
European natural gas prices have fallen to levels last seen before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As the FT writes, the Dutch TTF gas futures for the next month (the benchmark European contract) fell on Wednesday, December 28, by 7.4%.
The price was 76.78 euros per megawatt-hour. This price was last registered 10 months ago. During the day, the price increased to 80.55 euros.
It is noted that this is due to a reduction in gas consumption for heating against the background of warm weather persisting in Europe. Since Christmas Eve, Europe has been sending more gas to its storage facilities than it is using,
Gas prices in Europe
In December, the energy ministers of the countries of the European Union agreed on the establishment of a ceiling price for gas. It will be €180 per megawatt-hour (MWh), and the cap is expected to come into force in mid-February.
The Kremlin called the sanctions “an attempt to encroach on the market mechanism” and promised retaliatory measures. However, a week after agreeing on the establishment of a maximum price for gas in the Russian Federation, there was talk of resuming supplies to the EU through the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline.
Previously, the aggressor country threatened to stop the supply of gas to the EU in the event of the introduction of a “price ceiling”. This was the Russian response to the establishment of a maximum price for Russian oil – on December 27, Vladimir Putin signed a decree prohibiting the supply of oil and oil products to foreign legal entities and natural persons, if the contracts provide for the introduction of a price ceiling.
