The average monthly price for natural gas in the United States amounted to **** nominal U.S. dollars per million British thermal units (Btu) in May 2025. By contrast, natural gas prices in Europe were about three times higher than those in the U.S. Prices in Europe tend to be notably higher than those in the U.S. as the latter benefits from being a major hydrocarbon producer. Europe's import reliance European prices for natural gas rose most notable throughout the second half of 2021 and much of 2022, peaking at over ** U.S. dollars per million Btu in August 2022. The sharp rise was due to supply chain issues and economic strain following the COVID-19 pandemic, which was further exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. As a result of the war, many countries began looking for alternative sources, and Russian pipeline gas imports to the European Union declined as a result. Meanwhile, LNG was a great beneficiary, with LNG demand in Europe rising by more than ** percent between 2021 and 2023. How domestic natural gas production shapes prices As intimated, the United States’ position among the leaders of worldwide natural gas production is one of the main reasons for why prices for this commodity are so low across the country. In 2023, the U.S. produced more than ************ cubic meters of natural gas, which allays domestic demand and allows for far lower purchasing prices.

Natural gas fell to 3.25 USD/MMBtu on July 22, 2025, down 2.13% from the previous day. Over the past month, Natural gas's price has fallen 14.59%, but it is still 48.80% higher than a year ago, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Natural gas - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

Japan and China have some of the highest spot prices for liquefied natural gas. In January 2024, customers in Japan and China paid approximately 10.05 U.S. dollars per million British thermal unit of LNG delivered. Destination markets in Europe and South America experienced slightly lower shipping costs. In the last few years, the global trade volume of LNG has increased notably, exceeding 500 billion cubic meters shipped.

LNG demand growth and largest destination markets

Increased gas demand and improved liquefaction technology has prompted growth in the gas market and the entry of new players. LNG prices were initially strongly influenced by crude oil, however, as the market grew it developed independent benchmarks. As one of the largest LNG importing countries, the price for LNG in Japan has become synonymous with the global benchmark.

In 2024, the price of natural gas in Europe reached 11 constant U.S. dollars per million British thermal units, compared with 2.2 U.S. dollars in the U.S. This was a notable decrease compared to the previous year, which had seen a steep increase in prices due to an energy supply shortage exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war. Since 1980, natural gas prices have typically been higher in Europe than in the United States and are expected to remain so for the coming two years. This is due to the U.S. being a significantly larger natural gas producer than Europe. What is natural gas and why is it gaining ground in the energy market? Natural gas is commonly burned in power plants with combustion turbines that generate electricity or used as a heating fuel. Given the fact that the world’s energy demand continues to grow, natural gas was seen by some industry leaders as an acceptable "bridge-fuel" to overcome the use of more emission-intensive energy sources such as coal. Subsequently, natural gas has become the main fuel for electricity generation in the U.S., while the global gas power generation share has reached over 22 percent. How domestic production shapes U.S. natural gas prices The combination of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and horizontal drilling can be regarded as one of the oil and gas industry’s biggest breakthroughs in decades, with the U.S. being the largest beneficiary. This technology has helped the industry release unprecedented quantities of gas from deposits, mainly shale and tar sands that were previously thought either inaccessible or uneconomic. It is forecast that U.S. shale gas production could reach 36 trillion cubic feet in 2050, up from 1.77 trillion cubic feet in 2000.