LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - Europe's gas consumption has fallen by 10% to 15% compared with the decade before Russia's invasion of Ukraine as high prices enforce sharp cuts, especially by energy-intensive industries.
Chartbook: Europe gas consumptionBy May 2023, prompt gas prices had fallen by 85% from their August 2022 peak as panic-buying for storage ended and a mild winter left Europe with record gas stocks at the end of winter.
Some capacity has yet to re-open fully because long-term gas prices are too high to make resuming operations profitable.
Europe averted gas shortages during winter 2022/23 but at the cost of significant de-industrialisation, which will be hard to reverse unless prices fall significantly.
Related columns:- Europe’s gas storage space is filling too fast (July 6, 2023)- Europe’s gas prices stabilise as storage additions slow (June 8, 2023)- Europe's extraordinary good fortune with winter weather (April 18, 2023)- Europe only has space for a small gas refill in 2023 (April 14, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.
Persons:
John Kemp, Alexander Smith
Organizations:
Eurostat, Thomson, Reuters
Locations:
Ukraine, Europe, Germany, France, Spain, Italy