MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/. The average gas price in Europe increased by more than one-third this spring compared with the same period last year, reaching about $582 per 1,000 cubic meters amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. This is according to data from the London-based ICE exchange on futures contracts and TASS calculations.
In addition, gas prices in Europe in May were 39% higher than the average quotations recorded in May 2025.
While gas futures traded at about $562 per 1,000 cubic meters on April 30, trading on May 29 closed at around $550, down 2% compared with the end of last month.
Gas prices at European hubs averaged $481 per 1,000 cubic meters in the first quarter of this year, while in the second quarter they have remained around $557. Overall, quotations this spring were 36% higher than during the same period last year.
The average gas price in Europe stood at about $517 per 1,000 cubic meters in January 2025 (up 53% year-on-year from 2024), $542 in February (+88%), $467 in March (+55%), $409 in April (+28%), $412 in May (+15%), $439 in June (+14%), $410 in July (+12%), $394 in August (-10%), $393 in September (-5.5%), $384 in October (-16%), $368 in November (-25%), $334 in December (-32%), $415 in January 2026 (-20%), $396 in February (-27%), $632 in March (+35%), $544 in April (+33%), and $571 in May (+39%).
Reasons behind the gas price increase
The rise in gas quotations this spring was primarily driven by the continuing Middle East conflict and the crisis on the global gas market caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of global supplies pass. All of this led to higher gas prices in both Europe and Asia, which are competing for available market volumes and pushing quotations upward.
In addition, as TASS reported earlier, Europe completed its heating season in early April. It became the second-longest heating season on record since observations began in 2011, lasting 173 days. It was surpassed only by the 2020-2021 heating season, which lasted an unmatched 190 days. Net gas withdrawals during the past heating season exceeded 61 bln cubic meters, which was 6.5 bln cubic meters more than the volumes injected last summer.
According to European Commission requirements, EU countries must ensure that gas storage facilities are filled to 90% capacity between October 1 and December 1 each year. In addition, a 10% flexibility margin is allowed in the event of difficult storage-filling conditions. Thus, net gas injections into European storage facilities ahead of the 2026-2027 autumn-winter season must amount to at least 68 bln cubic meters in order to meet the filling target. A year earlier, Europe managed to achieve only about 55 bln cubic meters.
At present, Europe’s underground gas storage facilities are 39.13% full, compared with 47% a year earlier, containing 42.8 bln cubic meters of gas. Europe has already injected about 12 bln cubic meters of gas into storage for next winter.
At the same time, Gazprom has noted the continuation of Europe’s anti-record lows in underground gas storage replenishment. The holding company also forecast that gas reserves in European storage facilities may fail to reach even 70% by the next heating season.