European UGS are filled by 81.49% (-0.2%), containing 88.6 billion cubic meters as of January 16, which is 1.7 times higher year-on-year, the data from the Association of Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) and the London-based ICE exchange showed on Tuesday.
Lower rates of gas withdrawal can be attributed to warm weather and increased wind power generation. According to WindEurope, wind power stations produced 25.8% of all electricity generated in the bloc on Monday, which is 1.7 times higher than the annual average figure of 15%.
The decline in gas prices in Europe is caused by the cooling of the market due to a high occupancy rate for underground storage facilities, but European countries may still face a new price surge, analysts told Sputnik. Meanwhile, gas quotations are several times higher than they were in 2021.
However, back in early March, gas quotations hit historical highs for four days in a row over fears that the import of Russian energy resources would be banned. On March 7, the price reached a record level of $3,892 per 1,000 cubic meters.