Wholesale natural gas prices in Europe fell on Monday to their lowest level since the start of the war in Ukraine, as discounts continued as a relatively warm winter kept supplies intact, AFP reported.

The TTF contract on the Dutch market, the European benchmark, fell another 4.67% on Monday morning to 72.75 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh) for delivery in February, the lowest price since February 21. 2022 year.

The price of gas has fallen by almost 50% in one month next month…and is down significantly from its summer peaks, peaking at €342 per megawatt-hour in August 2022.

The price of gas began to rise in the fall of 2021, with the beginning of the reduction of Russian gas supplies to Europe, and then very sharply after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Since then, almost all gas pipelines between Russia and Europe have been closed.

Warm weather, good news for European energy

Trading volumes were light on Monday as the main commodity market, London, was closed.

The current downward trend was made possible by “large gas stockpiles and moderate demand, partly due to favorable weather conditions,” said Sebastien Paris Horwitz, director of research at Banque Postale Asset Management.

“This is good news for European states and for the economies of the region,” he added.

The price of gas also affects the price of electricity, as many European power plants burn gas to produce electricity.

In France, the wholesale price of electricity for delivery in 2023, which topped 1,000 euros/MWh at the end of August, fell to 240 euros on Friday, the lowest level since April.