Germany imported 5.7% less natural gas in the first two months of 2021 but increased its bill by 2.6% over a year earlier, data from trade statistics office BAFA showed. Gas, power and carbon traders monitor gas imports because the supply and demand balance can change prices and traded volumes in all three markets. Gas statistics correlate with coal, which competes with gas in the production of electricity, while also giving clues about demand for mandatory European carbon emissions permits. BAFA’s monthly figures showed January/February imports were 934,538 Terajoules (TJ), or 26.6 billion cubic metres (bcm), compared with 991,302 TJ recorded a year earlier.
Importers’ bills in the two months stood at 4.0 billion euros ($4.8 billion) versus 3.9 billion in the same 2020 months. The average price paid per TJ on the border in the period under review was 8.2% up year-on-year at 4,259.02 euros, BAFA said. In February alone, it was 4,349.54 euros, equivalent to 1.57 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), and up 18.4% year-on-year. Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, mainly imports gas from Russia, Norway, the Netherlands, Britain and Denmark via pipelines. German gas stocks were at 25.4% of available storage capacity early this week, European gas infrastructure group GIE’s website showed. That compared with 73.5% a year earlier, showing current levels are well down as the spring season starts.