Naftogaz raises gas price for industry, citing price hikes in Europe
KYIV. May 22 (Interfax) - Naftogaz Ukrainy has decided to raise the price industry pays for natural gas by 8.9% to UAH 9,952.8 per 1,000 cubic meters due to the rising price of gas on the European market.
"Over the past month, wholesale gas prices in the European market have increased by 8%-12%. We are also forced to raise prices for our commercial consumers," Naftogaz said on Facebook.
Supply and demand determine prices in the commercial segment and buyers can freely select from among dozens of other producers and importers of gas that set the price independently, Naftogaz said, pointing out that it is just one of many suppliers.
The company proposes to monitor changes in the wholesale market price at various European hubs, in particular, on the hub nearest to Ukraine, Austrian-Slovak CEGH, and the nearest liquid hub, Germany's NCG.
Ukraine ended state regulation of gas prices for all consumer categories except households and heating utilities on October 1, 2015. Since then, Naftogaz has supplied gas to industrial consumers, budget-financed organizations and other economic entities on market terms.