Gas prices in the EU continued to decline on Tuesday, Dec. 27, amid warm weather that has reduced concerns about supplies and increased inventories of blue fuel, Bloomberg reported.
Thus, the value of futures on the TTF hub in the Netherlands fell another 3.6 percent after falling last week as temperatures are expected to be higher than normal in northwestern Europe even at the start of the new year.
Also affecting the price are large inventories of liquefied natural gas and an expected decline in industrial demand at the end of the year.
On the morning of December 27, the price of gas in the Netherlands was €82.34 per megawatt hour, or about $920 per thousand cubic meters. Last week, its price fell by nearly 30%.
At the same time, a decrease in European futures also helps ease the pressure on Asian prices for liquefied natural gas.
European Union countries reached an agreement on December 19 to cap natural gas prices at €180.
The mechanism is activated if the price difference with world prices for liquefied natural gas exceeds €35. Prices must remain above both ceilings for three days to trigger the mechanism.