MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. Gas consumption in Europe for eight months of this year decreased by 26 billion cubic meters in comparison with the same period of 2022, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said on Thursday. He was speaking at a meeting held on the occasion of the Day of Oil and Gas Industry Workers.

"As you know, energy consumption is an important indicator of the state of the economy. And we see that, for example, in Europe, gas consumption has been declining for the second year in a row. In 2022, it decreased by 56 billion cubic meters of gas. And in eight months of this year, [it fell] by 26 billion cubic meters in relation to the same period in 2022. We have spoken about the causes of the crisis in Europe more than once," he said.

Meanwhile, China's gas imports increased over the eight months of this year.

Earlier, the report of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) stated that in general, the total gas consumption in the EU in January-July decreased by 11% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 197 billion cubic meters.