The National Balancing Point (NBP), the UK's natural gas benchmark, amounted to 78.76 British pence per therm on October 27, 2025, for contracts with delivery in November. Prices are generally higher in the winter months due to greater gas heating demand, especially in weeks of colder weather. The UK NBP, along with the Dutch TTF, serve as benchmarks for natural gas prices in Europe. Impact on consumer prices and household expenditure post-2022 Fluctuations in wholesale natural gas prices often have immediate impacts on UK consumers. In 2024, the consumer price index for gas in the UK rose to 146.2 index points, using 2015 as the base year. This increase has translated into higher household expenditure on gas, which reached approximately 18.71 billion British pounds in 2024. This figure represents a 40 percent increase from 2021, highlighting the growing financial burden on UK households. Consumption patterns and supply challenges The residential and commercial sectors remain the largest consumers of natural gas in the UK, using an estimated 42 billion cubic meters in 2024. This was followed by the power sector, which consumed about 13 billion cubic meters. The UK's reliance on gas imports has grown due to declining domestic production. This shift has led to an increased dependence on liquefied natural gas imports and pipeline inflows to meet demand.

Petroleum is the most used fuel source in the United States, with a consumption level of 35.35 quadrillion British thermal units in 2024. Natural gas is the second-most common fuel source, with consumption levels rising closer to that of petroleum over recent years. Petroleum use post-financial crisis Petroleum in the United States is primarily used for fueling the transportation sector, generating heat and electricity, as well as in the production of plastics. U.S. consumption of petroleum was at its highest before the 2008 global financial crisis, when the price of crude oil rose dramatically. Petroleum consumption began to increase again in 2013, before dropping significantly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rise of natural gas While petroleum consumption has been lower in the last decade than in the early 2000s, the use of natural gas has risen significantly. Natural gas consumption in the United States has seen record highs in recent years, in part due to lower costs and its growing popularity. The U.S. currently produces more natural gas than any country in the world, followed by Russia.

Pre/post RMSPE ratios and P-values for oil & gas firms.