MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. The price of gas in Europe once again fell below $700 per 1,000 cubic meters, according to London’s ICE.
The price of February futures at the TTF hub in the Netherlands fell to $699 per 1,000 cubic meters or 62.57 eurs per MWh (based on the current euro/dollar exchange rate, ICE prices are presented in euro per MWh).
Gas prices are falling against fairly warm weather conditions in Europe. The temperature in the majority of EU countries remains above climatic figures. In addition, the share of wind generation in EU electricity generation continues to be stable above 20%. As of on January 1, it even reached a record-breaking figure for the entire time of observation at 34.7%.
Currently UGS (underground storage) facilities in Europe are 82.33% full, which 17.74 p.p. higher than the average for this date over the past 5 years, and they contain 89.15 bln cubic meters of gas. However, Gazprom warned that even seemingly high volumes of gas reserves in UGS facilities in large European countries do not guarantee a reliable passage of the fall-winter period. The load on UGS facilities in Europe in winter will be higher than in previous years due to changes in logistics and gas supply sources.