Natural gas prices in Europe are soaring along with a heat wave plaguing the western part of the continent, as the latter increases demand for air conditioning and pushes energy costs higher.
Temperatures in parts of the UK and France could reach record highs on Monday and Tuesday, Maxar forecast. Germany generated record amounts of electricity from solar panels on Sunday and is expected to set a new record on Tuesday.
The heatwave – a reminder of the severity of climate change – is exacerbating Europe’s worst energy crisis in decades. Officials and traders are watching closely to see if the Nord Stream pipeline, which connects Russia and Germany, will be back in operation within the week when its regular maintenance period ends. Moscow has already cut supplies to European countries amid tensions between them over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reports.
A Nord Stream turbine was transported from Canada, where it was being repaired, to Germany on July 17, Kommersant reported, citing its sources.
The turbine had remained in Canada under Western sanctions against Russia. Russia’s Gazprom had said it had been forced to cut flows through the pipeline, the largest connecting Russian territory to Europe, by 40% due to equipment that had not been returned.
Even after Nord Stream maintenance work ends, it is unknown how much natural gas Russia will allow to move west to the Old Continent, Deutsche Bank noted in a note. “Part of this decision will be political and part of it will be operational – technical, as the repaired turbine will take some time to complete, or at least that will be the claim,” he adds.
The Dutch natural gas contract, a benchmark for Europe, was up 3.3% at 164.75 euros per megawatt hour at 10:49 a.m. Greek time on Monday, having fallen 8.8% on Friday. The corresponding British contract gained 2.4%, while the price of electricity in Germany strengthened by 0.9%.
Source: Capital

I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.