According to the London ICE exchange, gas prices in Europe are rising moderately on Tuesday and are holding above $1,900 per thousand cubic meters. The cost of «blue fuel» jumped sharply yesterday after Gazprom announced plans to reduce supplies via the key Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Europe. According to the plan, from June 27, the pipeline will pass no more than 33 million cubic meters per day, which is only 20% of the nominal capacity of the main line. Analysts believe that exchange prices for gas in Europe may exceed $2,000 per thousand cubic meters for the first time in four months. The last time the cost of gas exceeded this mark was in early March – then gas quotes approached the $4,000 mark due to fears of a ban on Russian energy resources. The estimated gas price on the European stock exchange in July averages $1,742 per thousand cubic meters. This is several times higher than in the same period last year. Experts note that there have not been such consistently high prices in the entire history of the operation of gas hubs in Europe – since 1996.
