July futures on the TTF index — Europe's largest hub — opened at $422.2 per thousand cubic meters (-1.3%). As of 08:21 GMT, they were trading at $485.8 (+13.6%). Moments earlier, the price almost reached %500, which marks a 16% increase.
Since 2021, energy prices in the EU have been surging as part of a global trend. After the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February and the adoption of several packages of sanctions against Moscow by the bloc, gas prices have accelerated their growth, placing energy security high on both the global and national agendas and pushing many European governments to resort to contingency measures.