Frankfurt, Aug 19, (dpa/GNA) – Gas prices in Europe have risen sharply during the past week, to reach nearly €251 ($253) per megawatt hour, exacerbating the strain on industry and pushing the price of goods up further.
Data on German producer prices showed the effects of higher energy prices for consumers, with prices 37.2% higher in July than in the same month of the year before, an unprecedented increase.
That is mainly due to the price of natural gas, up 164% year on year, according to the German statistics agency.
On Friday morning, the price was around €237 per megawatt hour. A year ago, gas was being traded for around €50 per megawatt hour.
After remaining stable at around €200 per megawatt hour for the first two weeks of August, the latest increase puts prices at a level only exceeded briefly in early March, when prices peaked at more than €300 per megawatt hour shortly after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Germany and other countries that depend on inexpensive gas from Russia, are urgently seeking alternatives, but companies are paying higher prices for gas from elsewhere, which is gradually impacting household bills, prices and industrial production.
On Friday, a spokesperson for German energy company Uniper, told dpa-AFX that “it is clear that the losses will increase as gas prices rise.”
The German government has agreed to support energy companies if the losses related to buying gas from alternative sources exceed €7 billion, provided they are not recouped through sales in other energy sectors.
The spokesperson did not give details on what level losses may currently be running at.
GNA