Baltic-Finnish Gas Exchange Trading Report for March 2022 Has Been Announced

The trade turnover in March exceeded 1 TWh of natural gas

In March 2022, 2,955 transactions were concluded on the GET Baltic gas exchange, which is one third more comparing to the previous month (2,228 in February 2022). The volume traded on the exchange increased significantly, exceeding 1 TWh of natural gas, which is 68% more than in February (654 GWh in February 2022). In comparison to the previous month, the volume of purchases grew in all market areas: in Finland – by 90%, in Latvia – Estonia – by 70%, and in Lithuania – by 40%. The increase in the volume of gas traded on the exchange was influenced by the war in Ukraine that began at the end of February and continued throughout March. As a result, it increased market uncertainty and encouraged wholesale market participants to purchase the required amount of gas on the Baltic-Finnish gas exchange. The increase in the volume traded on the gas exchange may also have been affected by the record-high fluctuations in TTF front month (Dutch natural gas price index) for April delivery as well as the lower TTF front month for March delivery, which was formed by transactions concluded in February, versus BGSI (Baltic-Finnish Natural Gas Price Index), which was formed by transactions concluded during March.

In the first quarter of the year, GET Baltic‘s gas trading turnover reached 2.4 TWh of natural gas, of which 731 GWh were cross-border (ICA) transactions. Cross-border trade was mainly affected by increased price differences between different market areas. Due to the unique GET Baltic ICA model, exchange trading together with assigned cross-border capacity allows exchange participants to conclude transactions at the best price offered in the entire region. Contrasted with the first quarter of the previous year, the turnover of ICA increased by 80% (405 GWh in March 2021). The volume of orders submitted by exchange participants to buy gas in March amounted to 2.8 TWh, and to sell – 3.2 TWh. In total, 50 participants actively submitted orders on the exchange during March, all of whom successfully concluded transactions.

Prices of individual transactions in March ranged from 75.00 EUR/MWh to 170.00 EUR/MWh. In March, the value of the Baltic-Finnish natural gas price index BGSI, which measures changes in natural gas prices on a daily market, amounted to 93.35 EUR/MWh. At the Lithuanian market area, BGSI amounted to 98.17 EUR/MWh (↑18%), at the Latvian-Estonian common market area – 93.88 EUR/MWh (↑15%), and in Finland – 91.27 EUR/MWh (↑13%). In March, the value of the Baltic-Finnish monthly market gas price index BGMI, which records changes in a monthly market prices, was 78.00 EUR/MWh.

More detailed information is on the Baltic-Finnish Gas Exchange Trading Report – March 2022.

All Baltic-Finnish Gas Exchange Trading Reports are available at www.getbaltic.com.