Gas future prices are 88.86% higher than last year, and five times the prices of two years ago, possibly driven by Great Reset follies. According to Yahoo, there has been an increased demand by customers preferring gas to coal because of lower emissions. The Financial Times reports that gas providers have been unable to fill their storage facilities during the summer. Given the nature of commodity pricing through futures markets, a forecast of shortages feeds the upward spiral of prices.
“Cassim Mangerah, who runs energy trading at Centrica, told the Financial Times that a prolonged or particularly cold winter was likely to spur prices higher, leaving some energy-intensive companies little option but to curb production. ‘We haven’t seen a price situation like this before. If you can’t attract supply, the only alternative is to cut demand to balance the market,’ Mangerah said. ‘If we do see a supply crunch this winter the other way to balance the market is through economic activity. If prices are really high then some gas-dependent businesses in the U.K. and Europe may simply decide not to produce.’ The warning raises the prospect of a fraught winter if high prices force industries to restrict production or close factories against a backdrop of a lingering pandemic and fears of a renewed surge of coronavirus cases this winter.”
