EUROPEAN COMMISSION RAISES EUROPEAN GAS PRICE FORECAST FOR 2024 AND 2025

According to its autumn forecast, the European Commission has increased its gas price expectations in Europe by 9.7% this year and by 14.4% in 2025.

Thus, this year the price of gas is expected to be 33.9 euros per megawatt hour (about $380 per thousand cubic meters), and next year - 39.8 euros per megawatt hour (about $445 per thousand cubic meters). In the spring it was predicted that gas in Europe will cost 30.9 euros per megawatt hour this year and 34.8 euros in 2025.

At the same time, in 2026, a slight reduction in price is expected, to 34.8 euros (almost 390 dollars per thousand cubic meters).

In 2023, according to the EC, the price of gas was 41.4 euros per megawatt hour, or about 460 dollars per thousand cubic meters. Forecasts for gas futures on the TTF index (the largest European hub, located in the Netherlands) are provided by the ICE exchange in London.

Gas volume is usually measured in Europe in megawatt hours (MWh), while in Russia in cubic meters. The difference is due to the fact that the European approach is based on the amount of energy that can be generated from the supplied gas. So, the higher the calorific value or calorific value of gas, the smaller its volume is needed to boil, for example, a liter of water, and the more expensive it is. In Europe, this approach is considered more objective.