Natural gas prices in the European Union fell by 3.5% in homologous terms in the first half of 2026, reaching the lowest value since 2022, Portugal being among the most expensive countries.
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30/10/2026
by
Lusa
eU gas prices
Oin the first half of 2026, prices for natural gas in the European Union (EU) fell by 3.5%, reaching the lowest level since 2022, Portugal being among the most expensive countries.
“ Prices fell 10.2% from the second half of 2025 and 3.5% from the first half of the same year. This is the lowest average price of natural gas in the EU since the first half of 2022”, at the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU statistical office, Eurostat, indicates, in data released today.
According to this European service, the average price of natural gas for domestic consumers in the EU was fixed in the first six months of this year at EUR 0,11 per kilowatt hour (kWh), a decrease of 10.2% compared to the second half of 2025.
Portugal recorded an average price of EUR 0,13 per kWh, one of the highest among Member States, alongside France and only below Sweden (EUR 0.22) and the Netherlands (EUR 0.16).
When adjusted to differences in purchasing power, natural gas prices in Portugal were the second highest in the EU, with 15.0 per 100 kWh, behind Sweden (17.7) and above the Netherlands (13.8).
The highest nominal prices were recorded in Sweden (EUR 0.22 per kWh), the Netherlands (EUR 0.16) and France and Portugal (both EUR 0.13).
On the contrary, the lowest figures were observed in Hungary (EUR 0,03 per kWh), Croatia (EUR 0,05) and Romania and Slovakia (both EUR 0,06).
In the first half of 2025, natural gas prices decreased in 12 EU countries with available data, increased by seven and remained broadly stable by four.
The largest declines occurred in Bulgaria (-14.5%), Greece (-11.3%) and Spain (-10.0%), while the largest increases were recorded in Romania (+9.3 %), Croatia (+8.9 %) and Slovakia (+6.6%).
Eurostat also announced today that average electricity prices for domestic consumers in the EU fell in homologous terms in the first half of 2026, but remained “significantly above” levels before the 2022 energy crisis.
In the first six months of this year compared to the first half of 2025, prices increased mainly in Romania (51.6%), Ireland (19.8%) and Finland (18.4%), while the largest declines occurred in Denmark (31.7%) and Luxembourg (24.1%).
In view of the second half of 2025, average electricity prices decreased by 2.2% to EUR 0,28 per kilowatt hour (kWh), below EUR 0,29 recorded in the previous period.
Ireland presented the highest prices, with EUR 0,39 per kWh, followed by Germany and Belgium (both EUR 0.36), while the lowest prices were observed in Hungary (EUR 0.11), Malta and Bulgaria (both EUR 0.13).
The weight of taxes and taxes on electricity invoice also decreased slightly, representing 28.4% of the final price in the first half of 2026, minus 0.5 percentage points than in the second half of 2025.