BLOOMBERG published - Sept 6, 2022 - Switzerland and Finland joined Germany in offering credit facilities to energy companies as the worsening supply crunch and surging prices threaten to create financial havoc in Europe.
As European policy makers rush to find fixes to the spiraling energy crisis, liquidity is becoming one of the most pressing issues. When EU energy ministers meet in Brussels on Friday, deploying “emergency liquidity instruments” is one of the key items on the agenda pushed by the Czech presidency.
Benchmark energy futures fell after jumping on Monday, with Dutch front-month gas losing as much as 13% and German year-ahead power falling 11%. Traders are weighing governments’ efforts to fix the crisis following the immediate panic over Russia’s move to halt the key Nord Stream gas pipeline. Also, gas demand is as yet still relatively low ahead of the heating season.
“Maybe Russia has played the potential hand too soon as we are still not in the colder winter months, ” said Nick Campbell, a director at Inspired Plc.
Germany’s decision to keep two nuclear power plants available this winter can make only a limited contribution to the country’s energy security but any means of saving gas is useful “in the current extremely uncertain situation,” according to an environmental economist at the IfW research institute in Kiel.