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Cold winter and gas shortage to influence gas price increase — Fitch

If the weather is cold and there is a physical shortage of gas, gas prices may increase even more, Marinchenko said

MOSCOW, September 28. / TASS /. The prices for gas in Europe which for the first time in history today has exceeded $ 1000 per 1,000 cubic meters, may continue to grow and break new records if the winter is cold and if there is there is a gas shortage, Fitch Senior Director for Natural Resources and Commodities Group Dmitry Marinchenko told TASS on Tuesday.

"The biggest test will be in the winter for both the gas prices and the consumers. If the weather is cold and there is a physical shortage of gas, gas prices may increase even more, Marinchenko said.

The current gas price increase in Europe could be the result of the approaching heating season and winter, Marinchenko notes.

In addition, "the rise in prices reflects the ongoing competition between the European and Asian LNG buyers, the low supplies in European gas storage facilities and insufficient growth in supply from the largest gas suppliers to Europe, primarily Gazprom."

 

Earlier today, at the opening of trade, the price of gas in Europe for the first time in history exceeded $1000 per 1,000 cubic meters . After that, the cost of the October futures on the TTF hub in the Netherlands accelerated growth its to $ 1,031.3 per 1,000 cubic meters. The overall rise in gas prices since the beginning of the day exceeded 11%.

Also, earlier today, the gas flow through the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline decreased by 50%. According to the European gas transmission operator Gascade, gas pumping through Yamal - Europe declined by almost 60% compared to the previous day - to 1.45 mln cubic meters per hour with just over 3.4 mln cubic meters per hour.

Gazprom Chairman of the Board Alexei Miller said that an increased demand for gas as well as a strong lag in pumping gas into underground storage facilities in Europe led to the fact that prices in Europe for this fuel have broken records and may exceed their values in the near future.