Price Trends for Key Commodities
Please note
The audited BASF Report will be published on March 21, 2025. The key financial figures published here are therefore to be regarded as preliminary. From today's perspective, no adjustments are expected.
The content of this section is not part of the statutory audit of the annual financial statements but has undergone a separate limited assurance by our auditor.
The content of this section is voluntary, unaudited information, which was critically read by the auditor.
Due to increasing oil supply, weak overall growth in oil demand and OPEC’s announcement to increase production, Brent North Sea crude prices fell from an average of $84 per barrel in the first half of 2024 to $74 per barrel in the fourth quarter. The annual average oil price was $81 per barrel, only slightly below the price of the previous year ($82 per barrel). In contrast, the average monthly price for the chemical raw material naphtha was $656 per metric ton, around 2% higher than the previous year ($643 per metric ton).
Compared with the previous year, gas prices in northwestern Europe rose more sharply in 2024 due to colder weather. However, the average annual price of €34.17 per MWh ($10.83 per mmBtu) was below that of 2023 (€40.52 per MWh or $12.83 per mmBtu). The average price of gas in the United States was $2.20 per mmBtu, likewise slightly lower than in the previous year ($2.54 per mmBtu.) In China, gas prices averaged around
$13.13 per mmBtu nationally (2023: $12.77 per mmBtu).
These contents fulfill the disclosure requirements of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).