2022-07-04 12:45:00
GERMAN INDUSTRY'S COLLAPSE
BLOOMBERG - July, 3, 2022 - Top German industries could face collapse because of cuts in the supplies of Russian natural gas, the country’s top union official warned before crisis talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz starting Monday.
“Because of the gas bottlenecks, entire industries are in danger of permanently collapsing: aluminum, glass, the chemical industry,” said Yasmin Fahimi, the head of the German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB), in an interview with the newspaper Bild am Sonntag. “Such a collapse would have massive consequences for the entire economy and jobs in Germany.”
The energy crisis is already driving inflation to record highs, she said. Fahimi is calling for a price cap on energy for households. The rising costs for Co2 emissions mean further burdens for households and companies, Fahimi added. The crisis could lead to social and labor unrest, she said.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck said on Saturday that the government is working on ways to address the surging costs both utilities and their customers face, without giving details. Earlier he had warned that the squeeze on Russian gas supplies risks creating deeper turmoil, likening the situation to the role of Lehman Brothers in triggering the financial crisis in 2008.
Russia has reduced shipments through Nord Stream pipeline by 60% and the pipeline is scheduled for a full shutdown this month for maintenance. Germany has raised doubts that Nord Stream will resume supply after that.
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Earlier:
2022, June, 23, 12:05:00
GERMANY GAS PLAN
Germany, which relies on Russia for more than a third of its gas supplies, enacted the initial “early warning” phase at the end of March, when the Kremlin’s demands for payment in rubles prompted Germany to brace for a potential cutoff in supply.
2022, June, 22, 09:55:00
GERMANY'S GAS RECESSION
The EU relied on Russia for as much as 40% of its gas needs before the war - rising to 55% for Germany - leaving a huge gap to fill in an already tight global gas market.
2022, June, 13, 14:40:00
GERMANY'S ENERGY SAVING
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party alliance agreed at the end of March to cut the levy on fuel for three months from June 1 by 30 euro cents per liter for gasoline and 14 cents for diesel, costing the government about 3 billion euros ($3.1 billion) in lost revenue.
2022, June, 10, 14:20:00
GERMANY NEED RUSSIAN ENERGY
Germany advised people to defrost their freezers regularly, change shower heads and switch office lighting to LEDs as the government tries to reduce a reliance on imported Russian energy that’s become a political liability.
2022, June, 3, 13:10:00
RUSSIAN SANCTIONS RISES PRICES
"The EU's decisions to partially phase out Russian oil and oil products, as well as to ban the insurance of Russian merchant ships, are highly likely to provoke further price increases, destabilize energy markets, and disrupt supply chains," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
2022, May, 20, 12:00:00
GERMANY NEED RUSSIAN GAS
German industry is particularly anxious about energy-intensive factories, such as glass, steel, food or drug manufacturing, as well as the chemicals sector, that provide many of the building blocks for industry.
2022, May, 13, 11:35:00
GERMANY'S, RUSSIA GAS SANCTIONS
European gas prices were trading higher early May 12, with the TTF month-ahead price up at Eur105/MWh ($109.72/MWh) as of 0815 GMT, according to ICE data.
