In Europe, gas prices have reached a two-year high

Gas prices in the European Union (EU) have risen to a record level for the last two years amid the depletion of fuel reserves in the storage facilities of the association. This was reported by BNN Bloomberg on Monday, February 10.

As of this day, gas futures rose by 5.4% to €58.75 per MWh - the highest since February 2023.

It is noted that due to the cold weather European countries are rapidly consuming gas reserves from storage, which only contributes to the growth of prices for this energy carrier.

According to the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), fuel reserves in the EU's underground storage facilities have fallen by more than 18 percentage points year-on-year and now stand at 49.9%. EU countries have used up more gas in the past three months than they have pumped in seven months.

Earlier, on February 7, ICE data showed that gas exchange prices in Europe exceeded $600 per 1,000 cubic meters for the first time since October 13, 2023.

Prior to that, on January 29, Belgian Energy Minister Tinne van der Straten announced that the country's authorities plan to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia even after sanctions prohibiting it come into force at the end of March. She pointed out that gas imports from Russia would not disappear, but would be redirected to different destinations and facilities.

"Gazprom announced on January 1, 2025 that it would suspend Russian gas supplies to the EU via Ukraine." Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo said that this would have drastic consequences for the EU, but not for Russia.

At the end of August 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (his term expired on May 20, 2024) said that the country would not extend the gas transit agreement with Russia, which was valid until the end of 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin later pointed out that Moscow did not refuse to transit gas through Ukrainian territory.