Because of mild temperatures
Wholesale gas prices continue to fall
Wholesale gas prices in Europe have continued to fall. At the start of the year, they continued the downturn of the past trading days thanks to unusually mild winter temperatures. They reached their lowest level since February 21, 2022.
Pipes on a plant for compressing natural gas on the site of the largest natural gas storage facility in Western Europe in Rehden in Lower Saxony (D). (archive image)
The reference futures contract TTF on the energy exchange in the Netherlands was on Monday morning at 72.75 euros per megawatt hour for deliveries in February.
The gas price rose from autumn 2021 and the beginning of the throttling of Russian gas supplies to Europe. From the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine on February 24, it then increased in leaps and bounds. On March 7, the TTF reached its previous high of 345 euros per megawatt hour. At the end of August, the price was almost as high, at just over 342 euros.
The main reason for the falling gas price is still the comparatively mild winter temperatures, which are dampening consumption. The current downward trend is due to “high gas reserves that have been built up and weakening demand, which is mainly due to favorable weather conditions,” says market expert Sebastian Paris Horvitz. “This is good news for European countries and the economies of the region.”
(SDA)