What is behind rocketing natural-gas prices? | The Economist - 0 views
-
uropean gas prices have soared in recent weeks, climbing to a high of $25 per million British thermal units (chart 1, left panel)
-
Even before the recent price surge, gas was in short supply. A prolonged northern-hemisphere winter meant that European countries ran down reserves, leaving their stocks 25% below the historic average
- ...9 more annotations...
-
But dwindling supply from European mines and high demand from China have pushed up the price of the black stuff, too.
-
Rising demand for liquefied natural gas in Asia, as economies there have recovered from the covid-19 slowdown, has driven up prices.
-
Disruptions of imports piped from Russia and Norway, which supply nearly half of Europe’s gas, made inventories hard to replenish. The flow from Norway was limited because of work on improving the country’s infrastructure;
-
So has the rising cost of European carbon permits, which carbon producers must buy to offset their emissions. From around €30 ($35) per tonne at the start of the year, they climbed to a record €63 in early September
-
The government has ruled out a bail-out for ailing survivors. Heavy industry is already reeling from price increases.