In the morning, the price of the TTF futures contract for Dutch natural gas slipped by around four percent to EUR 94.59 per megawatt hour. The TTF contract serves as a guideline for the European price level.
Gas prices have been falling since the end of last week, with the TTF futures contract falling below EUR 100 for the first time since June at the beginning of the week. Since the beginning of the month, the price of European gas has fallen by almost 50 percent. The listing reached a record high at the end of August at EUR 342 per megawatt hour. At that time, a stop in the supply of natural gas from Russia triggered a rapid rise in the price of natural gas.
Will heating be cheaper?
The market referred to mild autumn temperatures, which keep natural gas consumption low. In addition, the gas storage tanks are completely full. Despite the recent relaxation, the price of European natural gas is still at a comparatively high level. In 2020, the TTF futures contract was still below the EUR 20 mark.
Is heating getting cheaper now? Experts say that immediate relief for consumers is not to be expected at the moment due to the sharp drop in wholesale prices. The figures currently being communicated relate to short-term deliveries and not longer-term contracts.
“Good news in the medium term”
The sharp drop in wholesale prices will therefore only reach citizens and companies with some delay. “This is only good news for consumers in the medium term, because the high prices from last year will still be incurred next year,” said German Economics Minister Robert Habeck on Tuesday at the sidelines of a meeting of EU energy ministers in Luxembourg .
However, the falling gas prices are a strong sign for the markets. According to Habeck, prices have recently plummeted. Among the reasons for the positive developments on the gas markets, Habeck cited the full storage facilities and the clear signals from politicians to take further measures. Just the announcement that something would be done caused the prices to go down, he explained.
Source: Nachrichten
