HELSINKI (Reuters) – The price of natural gas imported by Finland from Russia rose 282% year on year in March, the month after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, data from Finnish customs released on Friday.
This jump reflects the surge in gas prices, as its imports have decreased in terms of volume, according to data from Gasgrid Finland published on the website of the European Network of Gas Transmission System Operators (ENTSOG).
The cost of Finnish imports of Russian gas came to 151 million euros, up from 39.6 million euros a year earlier, and reflecting an increase of around 122% from February, the data showed.
European Union members, including Finland, are seeking to reduce their energy dependence on Russia and push to end what Moscow calls a “special operation” in Ukraine.
Although Finland is preparing for a possible supply disruption from Russia, its imports rose 124% in March compared to February, according to ENTSOG data.
This likely reflects the fact that Finnish industry has been stocking up, said Olli-Pekka Penttila, director of statistics at Finnish customs.
Finnish crude oil imports from Russia fell 70% in volume and 45% in value in March, according to customs data, replaced mainly by imports from Norway.
(Report by Anne Kauranen; French version Elena Vardon, editing by Kate Entringer)
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