Gas prices in Europe rose by almost seven percent

MOSCOW, 5 Oct – PRIME. Stock exchange prices for gas in Europe closed trading on Wednesday with a 7% increase, rose to almost $1,800 per thousand cubic meters, although quotes fell below $1,600 per thousand cubic meters during the day, according to data from the London ICE exchange.

Futures contracts on the TTF index opened trading in positive territory, in the first minutes they cost $1,700.6 per thousand cubic meters (+1.5%). In the first half of the day, prices were declining, the minimum was reached at 11.10 Moscow time – 1583.2 dollars per thousand cubic meters (-5.5%).

The downside factor was that Gazprom reported that it and buyers in Italy managed to find a solution for the supply of Russian gas, the transport of raw materials through Austria, which was stopped on October 1, is being resumed. In the second half of the day, however, prices began to rise, the price maximum was reached at 18.27 Moscow time – 1832.4 dollars per thousand cubic meters (+9.4%). Bidding closed with a 7.2% increase – the closing price was $1,795.5 per thousand cubic meters. The dynamics is based on the settlement price of the previous trading day – $1,675.6 per thousand cubic meters.

The average settlement price of the nearest futures in September fell to $2,093 (-14.6%). In May, the figure was $1,030, in June it was almost $1,180 (+14.6% on a monthly basis), and in July it was about $1,805 (+53%). In August, the price slightly exceeded $2,450 (+35.7%), which was a record in the history of gas hubs in Europe since 1996.

Back in early March, gas prices in Europe, due to fears of a ban on the import of Russian energy resources, 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. The last explosive growth, at the end of August, was associated with the announcement of Gazprom about the suspension of the Nord Stream gas pipeline for three days for scheduled maintenance. Quotes jumped above 3500 dollars per thousand cubic meters and updated historical records of the settlement price several times.

The start of a special military operation and related sanctions have affected the decline in Russian gas exports to Europe. Due to non-payment of gas under the new scheme in rubles, Gazprom stopped deliveries to Bulgargaz to Bulgaria, PGNiG to Poland, Gasum to Finland, GasTerra to the Netherlands, as well as Shell Energy Europe to Germany and Orsted to Denmark. Deliveries along the main route, Nord Stream, as well as Yamal-Europe, have ceased, and the Ukrainian gas transmission system has significantly decreased.