Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov. File photoMOSCOW, Feb 13The Europeans have moved away from long-term and market interaction on the issue of energy supplies and are now forced to buy gas at an inflated price, Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President of Russia, told RIA Novosti. exclusively market-based and on the basis of long-term contracts. This is what the Europeans have moved away from, and now they buy gas — I'm rudely speaking — not at 300, but at 1300. Actual? More than, «Peskov said. The European Commission writes in the winter economic forecast that energy prices in the EU will remain the main driver of consumer price dynamics in 2022. Wholesale gas prices in spot markets in the EU may stabilize from the second quarter. At the same time, according to EC calculations, prices in 2022 may be higher than expected in the fall, and they may fall in the spring of 2023.
Europe is ready to continue freezing its ears to spite RussiaA noticeable increase in gas prices in Europe began in the spring of 2021, when the average spot price according to the TTF hub index fluctuated in the range of $250-$300 per thousand cubic meters. At the end of the summer, the value of a contract with a «day ahead» delivery exceeded $600, and in early October it was already $1,000. The all-time high in the futures market of $2,190 was reached on December 21st. Then the quotes correctively declined, however, in general, there have not been such consistently high prices in the entire history of gas hubs in Europe since 1996. Experts attribute the price increase to several factors: high demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia, limited supply from major suppliers and low levels of occupancy of European underground storage after a long cold winter and a hot summer in 2021. starve
