BERLIN: Germany’s January natural gas imports were down 11.9 percent year on year, paying 25 percent more as oil-linked gas prices followed more expensive crude oil with a time lag, data from trade statistics office BAFA showed.
The import bill in the first month of the year came to 2 billion euros ($2.15 billion), against 1.6 billion euros a year earlier, the data showed.
Many continental European long-term gas supply contracts still track crude oil prices, though the importance of virtual gas trading points for spot supplies is increasing.
Russia, Norway, the Netherlands, Britain and Denmark are Germany’s leading suppliers.
BAFA no longer provides a breakdown of supply from each country, but Russia remains Germany’s top supplier by far.
