EU gas prices fall to 10-month low — RT Business News

EU natural gas prices fell this week to levels not seen since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, according to data from the London Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).

First-month natural gas futures costs on the TTF hub in the Netherlands have dipped in recent weeks below €77 ($81.91) per megawatt-hour (MWh) in domestic terms, a level not seen before. since February. They were trading at around €81.5 ($86.73) on Thursday morning.

At their peak in August, gas prices in Europe topped €345 ($367) MWh, sending household energy bills skyrocketing and fueling a cost of living crisis across much of the continent.

The current drop in prices is attributed to several factors, including an unusually warm winter across much of northwestern Europe, which has helped reduce heating demand.

EU countries agreed last week to set an emergency cap on wholesale gas prices of €180 ($191) per megawatt-hour, which would be triggered if gas futures traded at a higher level for three consecutive days. The measure will come into force on February 15 and aims to protect consumers from increases in the price of gasoline.

In November, Goldman Sachs predicted a sharp drop in European gas prices in the coming months due to a situation of stabilization of storage levels.

However, despite the current decline, gas prices remain several times higher than the long-term average. Prior to hitting all-time highs this year due to Russian energy supply concerns, TTF gas spot prices were trading in the 10-25 MWh range over the 2017-2019 period. In 2020, the market was hit by the Covid-induced demand shock, followed by the exponential rise in prices this summer.

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