Page 122 - RusRPTSept22

recorded on March 7, when the price soared to $3,898 per thousand cubic metres.
Electricity prices in the EU have collapsed the euro. The euro fell to parity with the US dollar for the second time since 2002, as a sharp rise in energy prices fueled fears that the region's major economies are headed for recession, FT reported. The euro fell by 0.4% to $0.99. The currency fell below the $1 mark for the second time since reaching parity with the US dollar for the first time in 20 years in July. Shares in Europe also fell in price. Europe's regional Stoxx 600 index lost 1.2%, while Germany's Dax fell 1.7%. These declines occurred against rising prices for basic power in Germany, whose indicator is considered a benchmark. Investors and economists are concerned about the rapid rise in energy prices leading to a decrease in European business activity.
EU gas prices are roughly seven times higher than gas prices in the US.
As US natural gas prices spike to a 14-year high, Europe's natural gas crisis is driven by its reliance on energy from Russia, which has slashed natural gas flows to Europe in response to Western sanctions. As a result, the EU has been forced to lay plans to ration natural gas, a drastic step that will hurt families and businesses. Natural gas prices have skyrocketed so high in Europe that it threatens to send the continent's economy into recession. For context, Europe's natural gas prices are trading at about $70 per million BTUs, according to Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. That is roughly seven times higher than prices in the United States.
Even if the EU reaches its 90% full goal of its gas tanks, it will remain highly dependent on gas imports from Russia all winter as no one in the EU has big enough tanks to get through the whole winter without imports.
122 RUSSIA Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com