(MOSCOW) - Russia will for the first time charge European customers over 500 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres of gas in October after prices grew faster than expected, gas monopoly Gazprom said Wednesday.

"The price of gas delivered by Gazprom to Europe has already exceeded 500 dollars (per 1,000 cubic metres) in October," Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said in a statement.

"The dynamics of price growth have exceeded Gazprom's expectations," he said.

Last year, Miller had predicted the average price of Russian gas sold to European nations could reach 400 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres in 2008, an estimate he revised up in July to 500 dollars.

The International Energy Agency, an agency linked to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, last month warned gas prices would continue to rise until end-2008.

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