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Another day, a new record price for natural gas. Concerns about the tight market continue. Meanwhile, the price for heating oil is also rising again.
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mtmSource: BELGIAN
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The Dutch TTF-Future, a reference price for natural gas, rose to EUR 161.50 per megawatt hour (MWh) on Wednesday, before falling back slightly. On Tuesday, the price passed the 100 euro per megawatt hour barrier for the first time.
Prices in the wholesale markets rose another 20 percent on Wednesday. Traders speak of “absurd highs” and fear that the supply of gas and electricity will become considerably more expensive in November.
The tight energy market has been causing record prices for weeks. On Monday, it was announced that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany, was filled with natural gas for the first time. It was a test. It is not yet known when the pipeline will actually come into operation.
Fuel oil no less than 86 percent more expensive than last year
The fuel oil price will rise again on Thursday: 2.3 euro cents per liter will be added to the maximum price for orders from 2,000 liters, the FPS Economy reports. Right now there is a lot of demand for oil, says the Belgian federation of fuel traders (Brafco).
Just like diesel and petrol, heating oil is quickly becoming more expensive. At 0.7728 euros per liter, the official price is close to the peak of October 2018. Then the price rose to 0.7977 euros per liter. Exactly a year ago, a liter cost 0.4163 euros. The price has therefore risen by almost 86 percent in one year. In the corona crisis last year, the fuel oil price had completely collapsed.
Fuel traders are currently noticing a greater demand for heating oil, says Johan Mattart of Brafco. “That’s partly because of the prices: people anticipate future price increases,” he says. In addition, the heating season has also started, traditionally the period in which people place orders.
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