Gas prices in Europe fall to three-year low
Gas prices in Europe fall to three-year low (Getty Images)
Gas prices in Europe have plummeted to nearly a three-year low. Futures at the TTF hub in the Netherlands hit 22.5 euros per megawatt-hour (about $250 per thousand cubic meters), according to the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
Prices are now close to levels seen in May 2021, when Russia gradually began to halt supplies of pipeline gas to the continent.
The drop in prices in Europe underscores a comfortable supply situation - storages, as usual, are filled to about 65%, with a little over a month left until the end of the winter heating season.
European prices
A mild winter and record reserves have crashed gas prices in Europe. According to data collected by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), gas stocks in the European Union and the United Kingdom as of February 10 were 45% higher than the 10-year seasonal average. As a result, storages, as before, were filled to 67%.
Price forecast
According to the NBU forecast, natural gas prices on the European market after seasonal growth in the heating period will also gradually decrease. This will be facilitated by increased LNG production in the United States, Australia, and Qatar, the supply of cheaper Russian gas to China and India (which reduces competition for LNG), and balanced stockpiling.
According to NBU data, gas prices at the TTF hub in the Netherlands in 2023 fell by 65.7% to $465.6 per thousand cubic meters. The NBU predicts that in 2024 prices will fall by 0.9% to $461.6 per thousand cubic meters, in 2025 they will fall by 10.8% to $411.8, in 2026 they will fall by 12.2% to $361.5.
