The report provides an overview of European gas wholesale markets trends during the gas winter season, covering the period from October 2024 to March 2025. It also explores gas storage dynamics over the winter and offers an outlook for summer 2025. 

What trends did ACER monitoring find? 

European gas markets faced greater strain than in the previous winter, driven by a combination of higher demand and lower supply. 

• Wholesale prices increased by 50% compared to last winter, though regional price variations narrowed.
• Gas consumption increased year-on-year, driven by: 
  • temperatures across Europe aligning with long-term seasonal averages after two mild winters, leading to greater heating needs;
  • historically low winter wind speeds that limited renewables’ output, which increased the demand for gas-fired power generation; 
• Higher demand (caused by colder weather) and the halt of Russian gas flows via Ukraine was met without network congestion. This resilience was supported by:
  • full storages at the start of winter, reducing pressure on cross-border flows;
  • infrastructure enhancements, including new LNG terminals; and 
  • gas consumption remaining well below pre-crisis levels.
• EU underground gas storage stocks ended winter at 34% capacity, a level in line with pre-2022 norms but significantly lower than in 2023 and 2024. Reaching EU gas storage targets will require significant injections before next winter.
• LNG imports rose seasonally at the start of winter but remained below the levels recorded during the same period last year. As winter progressed:
  • European gas wholesale markets’ prices exceeded Asian spot LNG markets’ prices;
  • new gas liquification capacity in the United States came online;
  • EU LNG imports surged to record monthly highs in March.