As a result of the conflict in Iran, the price of natural gas in EU countries increased by almost 90%, while the price of oil rose by approximately 40%. This information was announced at a press conference by European Commissioner for Legislative Affairs Pierre Gramegna, as reported by Kommersant.
Gramegna explained that before the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, gas prices were at an extremely low level, which contributed to such a sharp increase in its cost.
Additionally, he noted that since the beginning of the conflict, the shares of European companies have fallen by about 9%. Also, according to Pierre Gramegna, the euro has weakened against the dollar by 2%.
“Before the emergence of geopolitical tensions, investors were optimistic about the growth of the EU economy... The conflict in the Middle East has temporarily, and I emphasize temporarily, slowed down this positive trend,” he added. In his opinion, this is related to Europe's high dependence on energy resource prices, and the current situation only exacerbates this dependence.
The price of natural gas futures at the Dutch TTF hub on February 27 was €31.9 per 1 MWh, and by the close of trading on March 9, the price had risen to €56.4 per MWh.
