The European Central Bank (ECB) predicts stabilization of energy and electricity prices in the euro area next year. The head of the regulator Christine Lagarde announced this to reporters on December 16 at a press conference.
“We expect energy prices to stabilize in 2022,” she said, noting that “some level of uncertainty” around this forecast still remains.
Higher electricity prices are negatively affecting consumption in the eurozone, Lagarde said. In addition, its current cost has provoked an increase in inflation in the region.
Earlier that day, the ECB significantly raised its forecast for consumer price growth in the euro area and now expects annual inflation at 2.6% this year, 3.2% next year, and 1.8% in 2023 and 2024. At the same time, the September forecast of the regulator was 2.2%, 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively.
In 2021, the countries of Europe are faced with an energy crisis. The rise in gas prices began at the end of August and continued until the beginning of October. On October 6, on the London ICE exchange, the price for November TTF futures at the gas hub in the Netherlands exceeded $ 1.9 thousand per 1,000 cubic meters. m, setting a new historical maximum, but then dropped.
On November 16, Jeremy Weir, head of the Singapore-based multinational exchange company Trafigura, said that a shortage of natural gas reserves in Europe could lead to large-scale power outages across the region. According to him, in Europe they do not make stocks for the winter season, therefore, in the event of cold weather, the threat of mass blackouts increases, which causes real concern.
On October 28, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said that the Europeans created the energy crisis with their own hands. According to her, the European “green course” is an overly ambitious plan for the transition to a new type of energy, but one cannot refuse something without replacing it with something.
Prior to that, on October 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the rise in gas prices in Europe was the result of a shortage of electricity, and not vice versa. According to him, many European players were in no hurry to restore reserves in underground gas storages in the summer. The politician denied the assumption that high quotations are in the hands of raw material producers.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
