Biden has now officially announced a ban on Russian energy imports
– Spot gas prices in Europe have reached unprecedented levels on fears that sanctions against Russia, accounting for 40% of total imports, might leave the continent’s natural gas demand without supply.
– Europe’s benchmark spot contract, the Dutch TTF, hit an all-time high of €335 per MWh in intraday trading on Monday, equivalent to $120 per mmBtu, before dropping back to $75/mmBtu, still twice as high as Asian spot prices.
– At the same time, Germany has already indicated it will not slap sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas, fearing that the repercussions of such a move would trigger wide ‘civil unrest’.
– Against the background of record gas prices, Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) has ramped up supplies to Europe, with March daily inflows averaging some 3000 GWh so far, up 30% compared to February.
The US Goes It Alone On Russian Energy Ban.
In a speech on Tuesday morning, President Biden confirmed that the United States would ban Russian energy imports. In his speech, Biden confirmed that its European allies will not be joining the U.S. in this measure due to their relative lack of energy security. Oil prices and gasoline prices both climbed on the news.
Russia Warns of $300 per Barrel Oil If Imports Slapped.
Russia’s deputy prime minister Alexander Novak has warned that if the United States and the European Union were to ban imports of oil from Russia, oil would move to $300 per barrel.