(Finance) – It turns out the price of gas is still decreasing on the square in Amsterdam. The price of TTF gas futures contracts, used by operators as a benchmark for the European market, settled at 55.45 euro/MWh, down 14.4% compared to the previous closing. This leads the year-to-date decline to over 27%with i prices in line with those of December 2021well before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“At the moment there seems to be no end to losses on the European gas market,” wrote analysts at trading firm Energi Danmark. “Last year’s panic situation has been replaced by the confidence that Europe will get through this winter without supply problemsas demand is low due to the mild weather while warehouses are full much more than usual at this time of year,” reads a report.
It’s about a significant turning point compared to just a few months ago, when Russia began to halt most gas exports to Europe. This had pushed prices to an August peak of over €340/MWh, around five times current levels.
A mild climate and the efforts ofEuropean Union however, to quickly secure additional gas supplies (from the United States, Qatar and other countries), they allowed the filling and maintenance of the gas tanks storage. As of 15 January 2023, according to GIE (Gas Infrastructure Europe) data, EU stocks are 81.7% full and Italian ones 79.3%.