In the first half of 2026, average gas prices for EU households fell to 0.11 euros per kilowatt hour, Eurostat reported on Friday. Prices decreased by 10.2 percent compared with the second semester of 2025 and by 3.5 percent compared with the first semester of 2025. This is the lowest average price of gas in the EU recorded after the first semester of 2022, and seasonal fluctuations resumed the pattern that was visible before the 2022 energy crisis.
Among the EU countries with available data, Sweden recorded the highest household gas prices at 0.22 euros per kilowatt hour, followed by the Netherlands at 0.16 euros and France and Portugal at 0.13 euros each. The lowest prices were in Hungary at 0.03 euros per kilowatt hour, Croatia at 0.05 euros, and Romania and Slovakia at 0.06 euros each.
Compared with the same period of 2025 and measured in national currencies, prices decreased in 12 countries with available data, increased in 7, and remained broadly stable in 4. The largest decreases were in Bulgaria, down 14.5 percent, Greece, down 11.3 percent, and Spain, down 10.0 percent, while the largest increases were in Romania, up 9.3 percent, Croatia, up 8.9 percent, and Slovakia, up 6.6 percent.
Expressed in purchasing power standards, the highest prices were observed in Sweden at 17.7 per 100 kilowatt hours, Portugal at 15.0 and the Netherlands at 13.8. The lowest on that basis were in Hungary at 4.3, Luxembourg at 6.6 and Croatia at 6.8.