Russia's gas exports rose in March because of weaker gas prices which have tracked oil prices lower, an industry source told Reuters on Tuesday. The source said exports by state energy giant Gazprom - as measured for Turkey and the European Union, excluding the three former Soviet Baltic states - rose to 13.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) in March from 10 bcm in February. Gazprom has a monopoly on exporting Russian gas by pipeline.
Although Gazprom's exports declined in the first quarter by 20 percent year-on-year to 34.4 billion cubic metres (bcm) from 43 bcm in the year-earlier period, analysts expect them to rise during the rest of the year thanks to cheaper gas prices and harsher weather.
Gas prices are pegged to oil and oil product prices in Gazprom's long-term contracts with a time lag of six to nine months. Oil prices have halved since a peak touched last June due to oversupply.
"European gas demand was heavily depressed by abnormally warm weather in 2014. However, underlying demand was largely flat, and we estimate gas consumption could jump (by 40 bcm) in 2015 on weather normalisation alone," analysts at Citi said in a note.
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