Gas prices jump to 2024 high after Ukraine attack

The Telegraph:  Gas prices have jumped to their highest point this year following reports of Ukraine’s attack on Russia.

The European benchmark contract on Wednesday jumped as much as 5.7pc to €38.78 (£33.33) a megawatt-hour, surpassing the previous intraday high recorded in early June.

The surge came amid reports that Ukrainian troops have seized a key gas-transit point in the Russian town of Sudzha. The border town is the only remaining shipment point for the Russian natural gas passing through Ukraine to Europe.

The update was posted on an unofficial Russian military blog and could not be independently verified. However, the reports raised alarm among traders who had been on alert for disruptions to fuel supply.

Ukraine’s gas transit operator on Wednesday said that Gazprom will continue to ship gas through the country to the continent despite the clashes.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, accused Ukraine of a “large-scale provocation” after sending hundreds of troops into Russia’s Kursk region, marking the biggest assault on Russian territory since his 2022 invasion of its neighbour.