Live Updates: Latest Business and Stock Market News – The New York Times
Credit…Jens Buettner/DPA, via Associated Press
Europe’s energy crunch shows little sign of easing. Natural gas markets, the root of the problem, remain on edge because supplies are tight, and traders doubt whether the continent has enough of the fuel stored to last a cold winter without disruption.
The buildup of Russian troops on the border of Ukraine, through which Russian gas flows to the West, also has added to concerns about whether gas will run out. Already, low volumes of gas from Russia, Europe’s main source of imports of the fuel, have helped raise prices in recent months.
“There is a risk of supply shortages that could erode economic growth and trigger public discord,” said Henning Gloystein, a director for energy and climate at Eurasia Group, a political risk firm, adding that blackouts are possible in a worst-case scenario. Mr. Gloystein said that should the situation worsen, governments might order factories cut their gas use to ensure that households have enough to keep warm.
On Tuesday, gas on the TTF trading hub in the Netherlands hit a record level of about $60 per million British thermal units on reports that flows in a pipeline that takes Russian gas to Germany were being switched back toward the East. (European gas prices have doubled this month and are roughly 15 times what gas is selling for in the United States.)
Mr. Gloystein said this change of direction might reflect opportunistic trading activity rather than sinister maneuvering by Moscow, but the fact remains that natural gas markets in Europe are ready to soar at the slightest provocation.
Tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine make it very unlikely that the giant Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany will open anytime soon and bring relief.
On a call with reporters on Tuesday, Karen Donfried, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said Washington considered Nord Stream 2 “a Russian geopolitical project that undermines the energy security and the national security …….
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/22/business/news-business-stock-market