Gas prices surge in Europe amid fighting near station in Russia
Gas prices surge in Europe amid fighting near station in Russia (Getty Images)
Natural gas prices in Europe have resumed to rise to the highest levels in trading since the beginning of 2024. This is how the market reacted to the breakthrough into the Kursk region, which is taking place near the only working point of Russian gas intake into Ukraine, reports Bloomberg.
Gas futures in Europe reacted to the events in the Kursk region by rising by 2.6% to 39 euros per MWh. This is the highest level since December 2023.
The reason is the Sudzha station, located close to the Russian-Ukrainian border.
Gazprom has announced gas transit continued through this station, but in smaller volumes than usual. The application for August 8 is 37.3 million cubic meters, which is 12% below the average.
At the same time, the media's sources note that the decrease in transit is caused not by hostilities, but by a decrease in customer demand.
The market is aware of the expiration of the transit contract between Ukraine and Russia in 2025, but the early termination of gas supplies will be a shock to it, as some Central European countries still depend on these volumes, in particular Slovakia and Austria.
Background
There are several important facilities for Russia in Sudzha, for example, a gas metering station through which Russian gas transits to Europe via Ukraine.There is also a power substation in Sudzha, which supplies a branch from the Kursk NPP to the Belgorod region.
Russian president Vladimir Putin reacted to the events in the Kursk region a day after it began.
Ukraine has not yet commented on the situation in the Kursk region. Read more about the purpose of the border breach in the article.
