German gas imports rise in first two months of 2019, bill up 12.5pc y/y

FRANKFURT: Germany imported 0.6 percent more gas in the first two months of 2019 than a year earlier and its import bill rose by 12.5 percent, official data showed on Wednesday.

The volume of imports in January and February was 787,934 Terajoules (TJ) or 22.4 billion cubic metres (cbm), according to trade statistics office BAFA.

German importers paid 4.5 billion euros ($5.09 billion) for gas during the two months compared with 4.0 billion a year earlier, mirroring a rise in oil prices.

Gas, power and carbon traders watch gas imports as possible imbalances in supply and demand can change prices and traded volumes in all three markets.

There is currently abundant supply as the spring season arrives.

German gas stocks were at 54.7 percent of available storage capacity on Monday, the European gas infrastructure group GIE's website showed. That compared with 16.51 percent a year earlier.

Germany mainly imports gas from Russia, Norway, the Netherlands, Britain and Denmark via pipelines.

Europe's imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are also increasing.

The average BAFA-quoted price on the German border in January/February was 5,744.02 euros per TJ gas, equivalent to 1.99 euro cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), 11.4 percent above the price a year earlier.