During trading on September 6, gas prices in Europe rose sharply, the cost of the October futures on the TTF index reached 53.68 euros per megawatt-hour, about 659 dollars per thousand cubic meters, according to trade data from the exchange. At the time of writing, prices are reaching €52.96 per megawatt-hour (up about 3 percent).
In August, gas supplies to Europe were reduced for several days in a row after the accident at the Gazprom plant in Novy Urengoy, which created preconditions for a shortage of fuel and also led to higher prices. In early September, interviewed analysts called Gazprom’s plans to build up reserves in Russian underground gas storage facilities (UGS) as a threat to the European market and consumers. Previously, volumes in European UGS facilities have substantially decreased.