OREANDA-NEWS. The price of gas in Europe fell by almost 7% at the opening of trading on Wednesday, 22 December, below $2,000 per 1,000 cubic metres after a record rise on Tuesday, according to data from the London-based ICE exchange.

The January futures price on the TTF hub in the Netherlands was down to $1970 per thousand cubic metres or €168.635 per 1MWh (based on the current euro/dollar exchange rate, ICE prices are in euros per 1MWh). By 10:38 Moscow time the price of this energy carrier had risen to $2064 per cubic meter, or €144 per MWh.

In the course of trading the day before, the price of gas in Europe firstly exceeded $1,900 per 1,000 cu.m. for the first time since October 6, and then broke the historical record - having exceeded $2,000. It subsequently rose to $2300.

Viktor Khaykov, chairman of the Commission for Innovative Development of the Public Council under the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, told Izvestia that one of the main factors in the rise in gas prices was the European policy of abandoning long-term supply contracts in favor of spot delivery - this has led to a shortage of the resource. He also pointed to Brussels' "ill-conceived reliance" on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, while wind generation in Europe has halved in the past two days.