The Russian energy company Gazprom is threatening Europe with sharply rising gas prices in winter. The company announced on Tuesday in Moscow that these could increase by 60 percent to more than $4,000 per 1,000 cubic meters. This is reported by the Reuters news agency. The group justified this by saying that exports and production would continue to fall due to western sanctions.
“European spot gas prices have reached $2,500 (per 1,000 cubic meters),” the company said. “According to conservative estimates, if this trend continues, prices will exceed $4,000 per 1,000 cubic meters this winter.” According to the company, production fell by 13.2 percent to 274.8 billion cubic meters.
Gas prices for households in Germany are at a historically high level – the resulting increase in government revenue from VAT amounts to more than 3.6 billion euros, according to comparison portal Verivox. The gas levy planned from October, which should initially be 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour, would bring in an additional 1.4 billion euros from households for the state, Verivox explained on Tuesday. In Germany and many other European countries, high energy prices are fueling inflation. According to experts, the German inflation rate could even reach double-digit values in autumn.
