Exchange gas prices in Europe fell to $1,254 per thousand cubic meters

MOSCOW, 17 Oct — PRIME. Exchange prices for gas in Europe following the results of trading on Monday fell by 12%, to around $1,254 per thousand cubic meters, according to data from the London-based ICE exchange.

The next — with delivery in November — futures on the TTF index grew in the first half of the day and reached a price maximum at 13.04 Moscow time — 1394.7 dollars per thousand cubic meters (-2%). Then the quotes moved to an active decline, reaching a price low before the close of trading at 18.52 Moscow time – 1252.9 dollars per thousand cubic meters (-12%), and by the close of trading symbolically rose to 1253.5 dollars (-12%). Gas prices in Europe fell below $1,300 per thousand cubic meters for the first time since June 20. The dynamics is based on the settlement price of Friday, the previous trading day – 1424.2 dollars per thousand cubic meters.

Analysts interviewed by RIA Novosti noted that the decline in gas prices in Europe is due to the calming of the market against the backdrop of a high level of occupancy of underground gas storages, but the region may face a new price surge. At the same time, gas quotes are several times higher than last year, when they were already at a record level.

The average settlement price of the nearest futures in September, according to RIA Novosti calculations based on ICE data, fell to $2,093 (-14.6% in monthly terms), while in August it slightly exceeded $2,450 (+35.7%), which became a record for the entire history of the operation of gas hubs in Europe – since 1996.

But back in early March, due to fears of a ban on the import of Russian energy resources, gas quotes updated their historical highs for four days in a row. The price record of $3,892 per thousand cubic meters was reached on March 7.