European Natural Gas Price History: Monthly TTF Since 1992

The Dutch TTF is Europe’s main natural-gas benchmark and the price reference for most European gas contracts. This dataset tracks the IMF Primary Commodity Prices European gas indicator, published monthly in US dollars per million British thermal units (MMBtu) and distributed via FRED under the code PNGASEUUSDM, with coverage since 1992 — a long series that blends the modern TTF hub price with the older oil-indexed German border price. Russia, Norway, US LNG, and Qatar are the main suppliers to Europe.

Dataset: European Natural Gas Price (1992–2026) · Updated 2026-03-01

Source: IMF Primary Commodity Prices · International Monetary Fund (via FRED)

Macro Takeaway

Dataset Overview

Dataset Variables

The CSV and Excel files contain the following columns. Each row represents one calendar month.

Column names match the CSV headers exactly.

Download the Complete Dataset

The full dataset is available in CSV and Excel formats — monthly observations covering more than three decades.

FRED Direct CSV Access

The underlying data is published in the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database under the series code PNGASEUUSDM, sourced from the IMF Primary Commodity Prices dataset:

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgraph.csv?id=PNGASEUUSDM

The Eco3min dataset mirrors the same monthly series, packaged in a stable, versionable CSV with consistent column names — designed for direct ingestion in Python, R, or any data pipeline. The URL never changes, making it suitable for automated scripts.

Direct CSV Access — Eco3min Structured Dataset

https://eco3min.fr/dataset/ttf-gas-price.csv

This URL returns the complete dataset in CSV format. It can be used directly in pandas, R, curl, or any data tool.

Using the Dataset in Python

import pandas as pd

url = "https://eco3min.fr/dataset/ttf-gas-price.csv"
df = pd.read_csv(url, parse_dates=["date"])

print(df.head())
print(df["ttf_price"].describe())

df.plot(x="date", y="ttf_price", title="European Natural Gas Price", legend=False)

Using the Dataset in R

library(readr)

url <- "https://eco3min.fr/dataset/ttf-gas-price.csv"
df <- read_csv(url)

head(df)
summary(df$ttf_price)

Both examples load the dataset directly from the URL — no download or API key required.

Methodology

The IMF reports the European natural gas price in US dollars per MMBtu; the current indicator is based on the Dutch TTF hub, while earlier years reflect the Russian gas border price in Germany.

Values are monthly averages, which smooth the intra-month swings visible in daily futures and physical quotes. The series begins in 1992.

This dataset is updated monthly via an automated pull from the FRED API (series PNGASEUUSDM) by an Eco3min pipeline running on GitHub Actions, which regenerates the cleaned CSV and Excel files and refreshes the page metadata.

Data Quality & Provider Notes

The IMF/benchmark price is a widely cited physical-market reference. A few provider-specific points matter when using this series.

• Release latency. The IMF publishes Primary Commodity Prices monthly, typically in the first week of the following month. FRED ingests the update shortly after, and Eco3min mirrors it with a monthly pull. The series is not a real-time price.
• Monthly average vs futures spot. This series is a monthly average. It will differ from any single exchange settlement, and a monthly average necessarily understates intra-month peaks.
• Revisions. Prices are market-derived and not subject to the vintage revisions of survey-based macro series, though the IMF can restate recent observations.
• Alternative sources. ICE futures and the originating auction or indicator bodies provide higher-frequency or contract-specific quotes.

Common Pitfalls When Using This Series

1. Confusing nominal and real prices. This series is nominal. Comparing an early-1990s reading to a recent one without adjusting for cumulative inflation overstates the real change. Deflating by CPI gives the true purchasing-power move.
2. Reading the monthly average as a market price. Headlines quote exchange futures; this dataset reports the monthly benchmark average. The two diverge most during fast-moving rallies.
3. Unit confusion. This series blends two regimes — the older oil-indexed Russian gas border price in Germany and the modern Dutch TTF hub price — so long-run comparisons mix different pricing mechanisms; it is reported in USD/MMBtu, whereas the TTF itself trades in EUR/MWh.

Historical Regimes

1992–2008 — Oil-indexed era. European gas was largely sold on long-term, oil-indexed contracts (the series reflects the Russian gas border price in Germany), so it tracked crude oil with a lag.

2009–2020 — Hub transition. Liberalisation shifted European pricing toward traded hubs, with the Dutch TTF emerging as the benchmark; prices were moderate and gradually decoupled from oil.

2021 — Pre-war squeeze. Post-Covid demand, low storage, and reduced Russian flows began driving prices sharply higher.

2022 — Record crisis. Russia’s weaponisation of gas supply drove the TTF to an all-time high, roughly €350/MWh (about $100/MMBtu) at the August peak, the defining shock of the European energy crisis.

2023–2026 — De-escalation, residual risk. Demand destruction, US LNG, and high storage pulled prices more than 90% off the peak, though geopolitical flare-ups still trigger sharp spikes.

Related Macroeconomic Datasets

Commodity Price Hub

This dataset is part of the Eco3min commodity price repository — energy, metals, agricultural softs, and grains, all sourced from IMF Primary Commodity Prices via FRED.

Explore the Commodity Price Hub

Sources

• International Monetary Fund — Primary Commodity Prices, Global Price of European Natural Gas
• Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — FRED database, series PNGASEUUSDM
• Dutch TTF hub, and legacy German border price — basis underlying the IMF series

Dataset Reference

Eco3min Research. (2026). European Natural Gas Price — Global Monthly Price (1992-2026). Source: IMF Primary Commodity Prices via FRED.<br> https://eco3min.fr/en/ttf-gas-price-history-dataset/