Natural gas prices in Europe fell 83 percent in the last 5 months
Natural gas prices in Europe have decreased by 83 percent in the last 5 months due to the mild winter period and the high occupancy rate in warehouses.
On TTF, the Netherlands-based virtual natural gas trading point with the deepest depth in Europe, the megawatt-hour price of natural gas is trading at €58.4 for February 2023 contracts.
REACHES A RECORD LEVEL AFTER THE WAR
The energy crisis, which arose from the imbalance between supply and demand during the epidemic and deepened after the war started by Russia in Ukraine, pushed natural gas prices to all-time highs in Europe.
As economies began to recover from the effects of the epidemic, natural gas prices, which in August 2021 were €25 per megawatt hour, reached an all-time high in August 2022, reaching €342.8 per megawatt hour. megawatt hour.
Expectations that Europe will experience a gas supply squeeze over the winter also affected the price of natural gas.
TWO ELEMENTS THAT PROVIDE PRICE RELIEF
On the other hand, milder-than-expected weather conditions in Europe during the winter period and higher occupancy rates in natural gas warehouses compared to previous winter periods provided relief in gas prices.
Thus, the price of gas, which reached a record high of 342.8 euros per megawatt-hour on August 26, 2022, fell to 58.4 euros per megawatt-hour for February 2023 futures, falling by 83 percent in the last 5 months.
For contracts expiring in March 2023, the megawatt hour of natural gas is trading at 58.79 euros, and for contracts expiring in April 2023, at 59.8 euros.
EU WAREHOUSES 76 PERCENT FULL
According to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe, while the occupancy rate in natural gas storage in the European Union (EU) was 76.3 percent as of January 24, gas storage in the United Kingdom was full at a 72.7 percent.
The occupancy rate of gas tanks is 83.7 percent in Germany, 70.7 percent in France and 75 percent in Italy.
While the lowest occupancy rate for natural gas storage among EU countries was recorded in Latvia at 45%, the occupancy rate for gas storage in Ukraine was determined at 21.9%. (AA)