During the trading on September 6, gas prices in Europe increased sharply, the cost of the October futures on the TTF index reached 53.68 euros per megawatt-hour, about 659 dollars per thousand cubic meters, according to the exchange data. By the time of writing the news, prices reach 52.96 euros per megawatt-hour (an increase of about 3 percent).
In August, gas supplies to Europe were reduced for several days in a row after the accident at the Gazprom plant in Novy Urengoy, which created prerequisites for a fuel shortage and also led to an increase in prices. In early September, analysts interviewed by Bloomberg called Gazprom’s plans to increase reserves in Russian underground gas storage facilities (UGS) a threat to the market and consumers in Europe. Earlier, the volumes in European UGS seriously decreased.
The publication suggests that for the Russian giant to work successfully during the heating season, it is necessary to pump about 80 percent of the volume supplied to Western Europe, which is traditionally considered the main sales market for Gazprom, into storage. However, economists assume that in the near future the concern will completely revise its policy priorities, practically moving away from European exports. In the current situation, world gas prices are rising sharply.
