Wholesale prices of gas and electricity in the European Union (EU) have come down significantly from the peaks of last year, and continued declining even after the winter forecast, EU Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni said on Monday.

“Gas prices reached 35 euros (around USD 38) per Megawatt Hour at the end of last week, the lowest level since summer 2021. Futures prices for 2023 and 2024 have declined as well. As the EU approaches the gas-refilling season, gas storages are at comfortable levels and risks of shortages have considerably abated,” Gentiloni stated at a press conference in Brussels presenting the spring economic forecast for the EU.

Electricity prices have declined in parallel with gas, while oil prices are expected to be decrease over the forecast horizon, said Gentiloni.

With imported energy prices rapidly falling, the trade balance for goods is set to improve and, with it, the current account surplus is set to rebound from 0.5 percent in 2022 to 2.3 percent in 2024, he noted.

“In 2021 and 2022, the surge in imported energy prices resulted in a transfer of purchasing power from the EU to the rest of the world. The rapid fall of energy prices is driving a reversal of this effect, to the benefit of the domestic sectors of the economy – households, corporates and governments,” added the EU official.

Source: Kuwait News Agency