Gas prices in Europe have again reached a historical record

The spot price of gas in Europe again overcame a new psychological bar of $2,000 per thousand cubic meters and reached $2,187, which became an absolute record in the history of trading. The previous record was recorded in early October of this year.

Earlier, Gazprom stopped supplying gas through Belarus and Poland to Germany, which was the main reason for the jump in fuel costs. According to the gas transportation operator Gascade, the operation of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline was stopped. Transit deliveries in the reverse direction have also been suspended. 

The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov commented on the situation with the temporary suspension of gas pipeline supplies and noted that this is a «commercial situation» and it is not related to the Nord Stream-2. As you know, on December 16, the German regulator suspended the certification of Nord Stream 2 AG as an independent operator of the Nord Stream-2 pipeline. 

Additional pressure on the gas exchange rate in Europe is exerted by weather forecasts for the winter and a strong decrease in electricity production from renewable sources. According to current data, the contribution of wind generation to electricity generation today amounted to only 9.4%, whereas for the previous week the average was 13.7%, and a little earlier – 20%.