Hungary could have bought gas a lot cheaper on the exchange than from Russia

Hungary could have bought gas one-and-a-half times cheaper on the Dutch exchange in May than from Russia.

Despite the good relations carefully cultivated by the Orbán cabinet, in May, the Russians were already selling gas to Hungary at a price higher than the stock market price, writes mfor.hu.

In May, Hungary bought gas from Russia for a record amount of 1,364 euros per thousand cubic metres, which is 6 percent more expensive than the benchmark price on the stock exchange two months earlier, according to a calculation by Népszava based on the latest foreign trade data of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH).

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Until now, it was known that under the new Hungarian-Russian gas contract, which came into force last October, Hungary will receive gas from Gazprom at a lower price than ever before. In reality, however, the Russians are also trading with us at the prices of the Dutch gas exchange. That is the benchmark in Europe, and only validate stock market price changes with a delay of two months.

According to Népszava’s recent calculations, the March exchange price was EUR 1282. That is just under a hundred euros less than the amount the Russians are charging us. If we compare the Russian May with the Dutch May, it still comes out that the Russians charged Hungary almost 50% more for gas than they would have had to pay on the Dutch stock exchange.

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Source: mfor.hu, Népszava