On the leading Amsterdam gas exchange, the price rose by more than 13 percent to almost 37 euros per megawatt hour. Russian gas supplies to Europe have fallen sharply due to the war in Ukraine, but a lot of gas is still coming to Europe via pipelines through Ukraine, among other things. Wagner’s uprising raises questions among gas traders about the reliability of those Russian gas supplies.
The European gas price has risen about 30 percent this month due to disruptions to gas supplies from Norway due to maintenance work on Norwegian gas fields and installations. In addition, the warm weather drove demand for power for air conditioners and fans. There is also increasing competition for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Asia due to a heat wave in that region.
The ruble, the Russian currency, weakened against the dollar on Monday morning to its lowest level in 15 months. This year, the ruble has lost about 13 percent against the dollar.