Gas price: Ukraine and Europe. Market overview


Last week’s prices had an increasing dynamics and even crossed the mark of UAH 9000 per thousand cubic meters. At UEEX there was a high activity of trade in resources this month.

Ukrainian Energy Exchange

Last week, 10 companies-initiators of trades formed starting positions for both the sale and purchase of resources.


Starting prices had a general dynamics of growth. The initiators estimated the resource of May 2021 most expensively, although the starting prices of monthly resources based on VTP were approximately at the same level, and the resource in the UGS was slightly cheaper.


The initiating companies actively offered resources for the current and next months. The greatest demand was for the resource of April, of which was sold 47 million cubic meters. There were also effective sales of the resource of May and June. Natural gas sales prices were upward. Mostly this situation corresponds to price fluctuations in the European market.


In the short-term UEEX natural gas market, activity remained stable. As of Friday, the price of the Within-Day market was UAH 8,782.50. On April 14, the first agreements on the purchase and sale of gas in UGS were concluded, the price of which amounted to UAH 8,520.

European Market

Last week, European hub prices fluctuated widely, with a general upward trend. The lowest quotations are observed on the TTF hub, which as of April 15 amounted to 20.69 EUR/MWh. At other hubs, the spot price was higher - up to 23.30 EUR/MWh.

Contracts for the month ahead for the analyzed period were on average 3% cheaper than spot prices, quarters ahead were 4% lower than current spot prices, and contracts for the season ahead were on average at the level of current spot prices.


Strong demand for gas from gas power plants, against the background of declining wind generation, stimulates the growth of spot prices. Cold and cloudy weather continues in Europe, which, together with stable prices in related energy markets, will help keep quotations high. The price of futures for June Brent oil as of Friday, April 16, was USD 67 per barrel.

Prices of contracts with delivery in due time, EUR/MWh, 15/04/2021

Contract NCGCEGHTTFGaspoolTGE/POLPXCEEGEX/HUDEXAverage price
Day121,3421,5720,6921,2323,3021,10 21,54
May2120,5820,9120,2320,5822,6220,72 20,94
3Q2120,3820,7820,0320,3821,7820,10 20,58
W-2121,2321,1621,0921,2323,7320,52 21,49

Gas balance in Ukraine

Imports of natural gas from the European direction came in about the same volumes as last week - 2.6 million cubic meters per day and almost all from Hungary. The volume of domestic production averaged about 53.8 million cubic meters per day. During the week, gas consumption decreased, this is due to the gradual end of the heating season. As of April 15, 15.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas were stored in Ukraine, which is 0.5 billion cubic meters less than at the beginning of the month. Withdrawal from UGS was about 19.5 million cubic meters on average.


Public procurement

Over the past week, about 20 tender procedures were conducted for the purchase of natural gas by budgetary institutions. In total, 1.812 million cubic meters of natural gas were sold from the largest tenders (top 15) in the amount of UAH 13.6 million. The largest contract was awarded to Yug-Gaz, which will supply 575 thousand cubic meters of natural gas to the Housing and Maintenance Department of Khmelnytsky at a starting price of UAH 7.26 per cubic meter. The average price increased to UAH 7.4 per cubic meter. Prices ranged from UAH 6.0 to 8.31 per cubic meter.


Interesting for the week

On the CE UEEX in the section of the short-term natural gas market, the CE UEEX started trading in natural gas and the first 3 agreements have been already concluded. Short-term trading in the GTS was complemented by short-term trading in UGS, which gave participants more opportunities to accurately plan their portfolios and balance. From now on, continuous gas trading operations are fully digitalized, continue according to a significantly reduced time procedure and take place online, with a wide range of participants and a smaller number of documents.

The relevant departments are instructed to develop an optimal model of work within the gas market.Regional heat and power authorities have to buy gas during the summer at lower prices, which will allow them to save for their services during the next heating season and already have available resources for the next winter, as well as solve debt problems, as currently debts of heat producers and gas companies for gas purchased at NAK, approached UAH 100 billion.

The Verkhovna Rada did not support the reduction of gas distribution tariffs. The draft resolutions proposed the introduction of a moratorium for a period of 1 year to increase energy tariffs and reduce electricity prices and gas distribution tariffs.