Global industry prices for natural gas by select country 2024
Countries in Europe have some of the highest natural gas prices for the industry in the world. In the second quarter of 2024, industrial customers in Switzerland paid approximately 0.16 U.S. dollars per megawatt hour worth of natural gas. This was considerably higher than the price of gas in natural gas producing countries such as Russia and Algeria.
Determining natural gas prices
Like other commodities, natural gas prices are driven by supply and demand trends. In some instances, they may also reflect developments within the oil market, as both commodities are often produced together. Natural gas prices are volatile. Seeing as the consumption of natural gas is often without alternative (e.g. within power plants), short-term changes to supply and demand have huge repercussions for the market. Weather is also a common determinant of natural gas prices. Unprecedented heat waves in the U.S. have driven up electricity demand for air conditioning and affected weekly Henry Hub natural gas prices in the hotter summer months.
Natural gas demand
Primary energy demand generated by natural gas worldwide is highest in North America. Nevertheless, forecasts suggest that the Asia Pacific region will experience a doubling in such demand by 2050 and overtake consumers in North America. The United States is still leading a ranking of world natural gas consumption by country. However, China has increased its LNG and gas pipeline investment portfolio, which could see it becoming an even greater consumer in the future.
