MOSCOW, June 9 Exchange gas prices in Europe accelerated growth rates to 18.5%, again exceeded 350 dollars per thousand cubic meters, follows from the data of the London Stock Exchange ICE.
July (nearest) futures on the TTF index (the largest hub in Europe located in the Netherlands) opened trading at $296.5 per thousand cubic meters (-0.5%). And according to the data at 16.42 Moscow time, their cost is 353.3 dollars (+18.5%). The dynamics of quotations is based on the settlement price of the previous trading day — $298.1 per thousand cubic meters.
Gas prices have been declining since the end of last year, until May 25, for the first time in two years, they fell below $300 per thousand cubic meters. This is more than 13 times lower than the record values of the first days of spring last year — 3892 dollars per thousand cubic meters.
The price of gas on the European stock exchange fell due to sufficient reserves in underground gas storage facilities in the European Union, as well as warm and windy weather and austerity measures, which made it possible to significantly reduce the consumption of natural gas.
Gas prices in the European market have risen significantly in the spring of 2021. Then the quotes fluctuated in the range of 250-300 dollars per thousand cubic meters, by the end of the summer they exceeded 600 dollars, and in the autumn — already 1 thousand dollars. In the winter of 2021-2022, prices crossed the threshold of 2,000 dollars per thousand cubic meters, and in early spring, due to fears of a ban on the import of Russian energy resources, they reached a record high. Such persistently high prices have not been seen in the history of gas hubs in Europe since 1996.