According to experts, heatwaves in most European countries are to blame for soaring gas prices that have leapt to $363 per 1,000 m3, the highest mark in the last three years.
Gas futures contracts are trading at elevated levels at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF), a virtual trading hub for natural gas in the Netherlands. The price of gas futures with a short-term expiration date is set at $264 per 1,000 m3. At the same time, the average export price is invoiced at about $170 per 1,000 m3.
Commodity analysts at the Interfax news agency say that air conditioners consume a lot of energy in such abnormally hot weather. As a result, power plants utilize extra gas that could be allocated to inventories which need to be replenished after they were depleted in the cold season. Amid such robust gas consumption, volumes of gas inventories in the summer contracted 17% compared to their average capacity over the last five years.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Gazprom fulfills its commitment to European consumers with nonstop gas supplies. The two major gas pipelines, Yamal Europe and Nord Stream, exporting Russian natural gas to Europe will be shut down for routine maintenance in the near future.
