Although wholesale gas prices have recently fallen significantly and in some cases have reached rock bottom, consumers are not aware of this. The current trade prices will only reach end customers in a few months, explained E-Control boss Wolfgang Urbantschitsch on Tuesday.
What customers are now paying for their gas, “these are prices that are the result of purchasing by the energy companies that have taken place in recent months,” Urbantschitsch said in Ö1’s morning news. However, relief may soon come for new customers.
“Companies must recalculate”
The boss of E-Control expects the energy companies to recalculate their offers because of the drop in wholesale prices. “I think in the coming weeks some companies will come up with new offers that are cheaper than the current offers for new customers,” says Urbantschitsch.
Since the beginning of December, the gas price on the European wholesale market has fallen sharply. The main reason for the drop in prices is the relatively mild winter temperatures, which are depressing consumption.
The downward trend continued at the beginning of the year
At the beginning of the year, the European gas price continued the downward movement of the past trading days thanks to unusually mild winter temperatures. On Monday, the TTF futures contract for Dutch natural gas traded at EUR 70.30 per megawatt hour. European natural gas was last this cheap in February 2022, before the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
