Natural gas consumption in the first nine months of this year increased by over 5% after falling during four consecutive years, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a communique from the National Agency for Energy Regulation. Imports of natural gas in the period grew by 5.7% compared with the corresponding period last year, to 776.1 million cubic meters, while consumption rose by 5.4% to 715.72 million cubic meters. The companies working in the energy sector accounted for 41.15% of the gas consumption, the household consumers – for 32.29%, the economic entities – for 22.06%, while the budget-funded institutions – for 4.5%. For the fourth quarter of the year, the purchase price of the natural gas imported by SA Moldovagaz was set by Russia's gas giant Gazprom at US$263.63/1 000 m3 . The price corresponds to the level anticipated by the National Agency for Energy Regulation when approving the charges for end-users.