German Economy Minister Robert Habeck expects natural gas prices to ease soon as his country meets its storage targets and won’t have to pay the high prices the market is currently asking for.
“The result will be that the markets will calm down and the price will come down,” he said, adding that their recent spike is due to high demand, but also speculation in the market that cannot be sustained in the long term.
Germany’s natural gas storage facilities are almost at 83% and will reach 85% in early September, Hambeck told an energy forum in Hamburg.
Germany has set a target of 85% gas storage levels by 1 October and 95% by 1 November.
Hambeck also reiterated that Berlin will not allow a Lehman Brothers-style collapse to occur in the country’s natural gas market.
“I promise on behalf of the German government that we will in any case ensure liquidity for all energy companies, that we will not have a Lehman Brothers effect in the market,” Hambeck said, referring to the collapse of the US investment bank that triggered the 2008 global financial crisis. .
It is noted that the German energy giant Uniper announced today that it has requested an expansion of the state credit facility by an additional 4 billion euros, in order to strengthen its liquidity which has been under pressure due to the surge in natural gas prices.
Sources told Reuters last week that state-owned KfW is ready to provide additional credit to Uniper, which entered into a 15 billion euro bailout deal last month, as it seeks to offset widening losses due to rising prices. fuel.
Source: Capital
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