In an interview with Le Temps, Chief Economist of the European Central Bank Philip Lane admitted that the second wave of oil and gas price hikes will force the Eurozone to live with a longer and more persistent shock than initially estimated in spring.
“Geopolitical risks now appear to be elevated again,” Lane stated. “As a result, we think that because of this second wave of rising energy prices, inflation is likely to be higher for longer, before falling back towards our target from mid-2027 onwards... because we are now facing a second wave of energy price increases, we think there will be upward pressure on food, energy more broadly—including electricity—and goods in general, while pressure on services remains contained.”
Whereas so-called experts agree that the scarcity of oil might lead to price increases of gasoline and other fuels but not to rationing, the situation of gas supplies is more dramatic, especially in Germany where only 57% of storage has been reached, and the 70% level by November, considered a safety level, won’t be reached.
EIR considers three scenarios:
