OREANDA-NEWS. The spot price of gas in Europe at the opening of exchange trading on Tuesday, December 14, increased by 5.3% and rose above $ 1,400 per 1,000 cubic meters. m for the first time since the beginning of October. This is evidenced by the data of the London stock exchange ICE.

The price of the January futures contract on the TTF hub in the Netherlands as of 10:04 Moscow time reached $ 1,425 per 1,000 cubic meters. m (122.195 euros per MWh).

On October 6, a historical maximum was reached - $ 1900 per 1,000 cubic meters. m.

Dmitry Skryabin, portfolio manager of Alfa Capital, expressed the opinion that if the winter in Europe is cold, the region may face a gas shortage at the end of the heating season. He said that, according to the latest data, the selection of blue fuel from European underground gas storage facilities (UGS) in November reached its maximum level in the last five years - 11.2 billion cubic meters. m. Managing partner of WMT Consult Ekaterina Kosareva believes that gas prices in Europe will continue to grow.

The day before, on December 13, the exchange price for liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) according to the territorial European index increased by 16.13%, or by 4236 rubles, reaching 30,490 rubles per ton for the first time since November 26.

On October 5, the finance ministers of France, Spain, Greece, the Czech Republic and Romania issued a statement in which they asked the European Union to develop a toolkit for a quick response to gas price surges. The statement said that the EU needs to coordinate procurement in order to strengthen the negotiating position of European countries and modernize the energy market.

In late summer - early autumn, the cost of gas in Europe rose sharply. So, in early August, the estimated price of the next TTF futures was about $ 515 per 1,000 cubic meters. m., and by the end of September the figure had more than doubled.

Experts attributed this to several factors - the low occupancy rate of European underground storage facilities, limited supply from major suppliers and high demand for liquefied natural gas in Asia.