MOSCOW, August 12 European gas exchange prices exceeded $480 per thousand cubic meters for the first time since early December amid concerns about Russian gas transit through Ukraine, accelerating growth on Monday to almost 6%, according to data from the London ICE exchange.
September (nearest) futures on the TTF index (the largest hub in Europe, located in the Netherlands) opened trading at 9:00 Moscow time at $447.8 (-1.8%) per thousand cubic meters. And as of 14:32 Moscow time, their value was already $481.6 (+5.6%).
The dynamics of quotes are given from the settlement price of the previous trading day — $456.2 per thousand cubic meters. It became the maximum since December 1 last year. The indicator on concerns about the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine increased by 13.4% over the week — by more than $50 per thousand cubic meters.
Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov said that on August 6 at 5.30 a.m., Ukrainian Armed Forces units numbering up to a thousand people launched an offensive to seize territory in the Sudzhansky District of the Kursk Region. Their advance into Russian territory has been stopped, he noted. Also on Tuesday, the border town of Sudzha was subjected to repeated massive shelling from Ukraine. On Wednesday, the head of the town called the situation in the town «very tense.»
The supply route through the Sudzha gas metering station is currently the only one for gas transit from Russia through Ukraine to Europe. Last year, Gazprom supplied about 15 billion cubic meters of gas per year via it, which amounted to 4.5% of the EU's total consumption.