Gas in Europe fell below 100 euros per megawatt hour. But there is not much to be happy about. On October 26, 2020, the cost was 14.86 euros. And exactly a year ago, during the recovery period after the epidemic, 45 euros. At current prices, European industries and households remain out of the market. In particular, Italian and German. We had to give up the methane sold by Russia, which was subject to sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine, our main suppliers would become the United States, through LNG of which they are the world’s leading producers. With an economy less globalized and increasingly isolated to China, the United States will soon also become Europe’s main industrial competitor. However, they will have a very competitive energy cost: after the necessary conversions, the price of natural gas in the US market is now €18 per megawatt-hour. About eighty euros less than us.
President Joe Biden’s strategy has trade war implications that dwarf even the clumsy anti-European allegations of his predecessor, Donald Trump. It is the other war on Europe that no one talks about, except for the military war launched by Vladimir Putin. With that said, a few words would have been enough to counter speculation that the price of European gas on August 26, in the Dutch reference market for trust funds, is as high as €349. And even a few days ago, he kept it above 150 euros.
The sacrifices of companies and families
Biden could have publicly announced US energy support for European allies, most affected by the consequences of sanctions. who – which Whatever you take – whatever it costsWhatever it takes, pronounce it Mario Draghi, then head of the European Central Bank, to neutralize international speculation on the euro and the countries that are part of it. But the Ukrainian war is a far cry from Washington. And no one in the US administration, starting with its president, has yet uttered words that would ease the speculation. The White House’s determination to manage the current international crisis thus appears to its exclusive advantage: despite the enormous sacrifices that all European citizens are making, in one way or another, to support the response of Western democracies to Russian imperialism.
Much of American gas is extracted through deep rock hydraulic fracturing (fracking) techniques, a method not used in Europe due to the risk of earthquakes. But another important part is obtained as a by-product of oil refining. At a price of crude oil about $100 a barrel, American companies get virtually free gas from oil. The US energy industry is benefiting profusely. You can see it from stock prices: The stock giant Exxon Mobil Corp. has gone from $32 per share in October 2020 to $105 today.
Russia and China are too many friends
It’s as if the White House wants to pay us for years of privileged friendly relations with the Tsar of Moscow. A weak European economy is paying off, from Washington’s point of view, even against China, after years of close cooperation with Beijing by Paris, Berlin and Rome. GIMP major scheme clients Xi JinpingWhich we are, could have serious repercussions on the Dragon’s GDP.
Then there is the Taiwan front. The island produces 90 percent of the semiconductors used in global industry. A military invasion by Beijing would be a devastating blow to the Western digital economy. This is why the United States is bringing strategic production back into its own borders. And they’re doing it on the sound of hundreds of billions of extra subsidies. Numbers Brussels could not support.
However, the responsibility lies with European governments, starting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, if we fail to assert our core interests even at the table of our main ally. However, the stakes are very high: the decline of industry in Europe, as well as in Italy, the diversion of companies with lower energy costs will cause unemployment, poverty and social crises. It would be a great victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin. And that is what should be said in Washington, if the absent-minded President Biden does not realize it.
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