European gas storage levels fall to three-year low amid high consumption

Gas reserves in Europe's underground storage facilities (UGS) have fallen to their lowest level since 2021, down 34%. Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) informs that the amount of fuel in the reserves has dropped below 38 billion cubic meters. This indicates a high pace of consumption.

Gas withdrawals have accelerated due to cold weather. On March 18, daily withdrawals totaled 353 million cubic meters. Meanwhile, pumping increased to 42 million cubic meters. About 68 billion cubic meters of gas have been consumed by the EU countries since the beginning of the heating season. This is 25% above the five-year average.

Currently, the UGS is 34.25% full, which is significantly lower than the average level of the last few years (by 11.47%). Compared to this, the previous season ended with a record 58.44%.

Despite the high demand for this energy carrier, the average price of gas fell from $542 per thousand cubic meters in February to $467 in March, TASS reports.