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Hungary bought most Russian gas when prices peaked
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Hungary paid almost four times more for Russian gas imports in 2022 as in 2021. According to Eurostat data, the bill in 2022 was EUR 7.353 billion in the first 11 months. In 2021, the government paid only the quarter of that, EUR 2.189 billion. The question is how gas prices will change in May.
Some experts say that countries that have fixed gas prices for both households and enterprises instead of cutting prices are better off.
Between January and May, imports ranged between 245 million and 424 million m³. The peak was in June with 751 million m³, followed by imports of 522-576 million m³ between August and November.
In the following months, in September, October and November, the monthly bill exceeded one billion euros. The government paid the most in October when the amount was EUR 1.3 billion.
“The government does not deliberately pour money into financing Russia’s war in Ukraine,”
– energy experts interviewed by 24.hu told the news portal.
PM Viktor Orbán does not want to change household tariffs
Many businesses also bought gas at the August peak, as analysts predicted further price rises. But across Europe, demand spiked during this period. The panic filling of gas storages has given rise to concerns that there will not be enough gas in Europe.
Gas industry experts define the market price as the price on the Dutch stock exchange, the benchmark in Europe. This is also the price to which the Russian Hungarian gas contract prices are linked. If prices fall, then with some delay Russian imports should also be cheaper.
Whatever the price on the stock exchange, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán does not want to change the household tariffs. At his end-of-year press conference, he made it clear that he would not change either the reduced tariff of HUF 102 (EUR 0.26) or the HUF 767 (EUR 1.93) tariff.
Either paying these gas prices or shutting down businesses
In 2021, the price per m3 was HUF 74 (EUR 0.19), in 2022 it was HUF 205.6 (EUR 0.53) and in October 2022 it was over HUF 1,300 (EUR 3.33). As we have already written about, the spas in the capital have it worst, with an eighteen-fold increase in gas prices.
I wonder if it’s worth theorizing that Orban did not pay the amounts that are public (as per Eurostat data), but possibly paid a secret lower price, and the rest just went “elsewhere” in the deal with Putin.
…Or was it just a case of panic buying, regardless of the price?