Gas futures prices in Europe fell slightly below $1,000 per 1,000 cubic meters on Friday, after strong growth in the morning, according to the London ICE Exchange.
The value of the nearest futures on the Dutch TTF index at the bid opening was $1,084. In the first half-hour of trading, prices jumped by about 12%, exceeding the $1,100 mark. However, growth then slowed somewhat, and by the end of the bidding, prices had shifted to minus. The peak was $1,131 and the minimum was $984, 2.3 per cent below the estimated Thursday price.
European gas prices reached a historical peak of $2,190.4 per thousand cubic meters on December 21, and then went into a corrective decline. The estimated price of January futures in the last days of last year has fallen by half - to 1,020 dollars on December 30.
The significant increase in gas prices in Europe began in the spring, when the average price of a spot on the TTF index fluctuated between 250 and 300 dollars per thousand cubic meters. In the last days of the summer, the value of the "one day ahead" contract exceeded $600, and in early October crossed the $1,000 threshold. By December, the prices had doubled. Since 1996, there have been no such consistently high prices in Europe. Experts attributed cost increases to several factors: low occupancy of European underground storage facilities (after a long cold winter and a hot summer), limited supply from major suppliers and high demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia.
Weather and uncertainty with the launch of "North Stream 2" also influence the mood of market participants. Both lines of the pipeline are filled with technical gas and are ready for operation, but are not expected to start before the second half of the year.
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