The world faces a chilly winter as energy prices climb
The gas crisis has revealed Europe’s dependence on imported gas, but the rest of the world is facing higher bills too.

Chinese thermal coal prices have hit a record high. Flooding in the country’s northern Shanxi province, a major coal producer, sent prices on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange to ¥1,408 (£161) a tonne on Monday, says Laura He for CNN. That was an all-time high and more than double where they started the year. “Energy shortages have spread to 20 Chinese provinces in recent weeks, forcing the government to ration electricity during peak hours”.
In Europe gas prices have retreated from record highs set earlier this month, but Dutch wholesale prices are still up more than fivefold compared with a year ago. The gas crisis has revealed Europe’s dependence on imported gas, says David Sheppard in the Financial Times. Gas demand is concentrated in the winter months: “About 40% of total gas consumption in the UK goes directly to heating homes, largely condensed into a period of five [or] six months”. Europe has historically relied on Russian imports and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments to top it up during winter. But LNG from the likes of Qatar is now heading east as Asian demand for gas has gone up 50% over the past decade.
Moscow has suggested that swift German regulatory approval of its Nord Stream 2 pipeline could ease Europe’s energy woes, says The Observer. The pipeline is still not expected to come online for months. There are claims that the Kremlin has been playing politics with gas, but Russia has little interest in “undermining its finances” and “speeding up Europe’s decarbonisation” by withholding supplies. In any case, Nord Stream 2 is not the solution to the current crisis: even if the pipeline is swiftly approved it won’t be able to deliver significant amounts of gas before the new year.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019.
Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere.
He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful.
Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.
-
How to pay in a cheque
Receiving or writing a cheque has become much less common in recent years as instant bank transfers have grown in popularity. Amid widespread bank branch closures, we explain what to do if you get a cheque, and how you can pay one into your bank account.
-
Crypto assets of seven million UK investors at risk – how to keep yours safe
Cryptocurrency wallet rules make it hard to track down assets after someone has died, even if they leave a will saying who they would like to inherit them
-
8 of the best properties for sale with kitchen gardens
The best properties for sale with kitchen gardens – from a 17th-century timber-framed hall house in Norfolk, to an Arts & Crafts house in West Sussex designed by Charles Voysey with a garden by Gertrude Jekyll
-
Why investors can no longer trust traditional statistical indicators
Opinion The statistical indicators and data investors have relied on for decades are no longer fit for purpose. It's time to move on, says Helen Thomas
-
Investors rediscover the virtue of value investing over growth
Growth investing, betting on rapidly expanding companies, has proved successful since 2008. But now the other main investment style seems to be coming back into fashion.
-
8 of the best properties for sale with shooting estates
The best properties for sale with shooting estates – from an estate in a designated Dark Sky area in Ayrshire, Scotland, to a hunting estate in Tuscany with a wild boar, mouflon, deer and hare shoot
-
What we can learn from Britain’s "Dashing Dozen" stocks
Stocks that consistently outperform the market are clearly doing something right. What can we learn from the UK's top performers and which ones are still buys?
-
The most likely outcome of the AI boom is a big fall
Opinion Like the dotcom boom of the late 1990s, AI is not paying off – despite huge investments being made in the hope of creating AI-based wealth
-
The rise of Robin Zeng: China’s billionaire battery king
Robin Zeng, a pioneer in EV batteries, is vying with Li Ka-shing for the title of Hong Kong’s richest person. He is typical of a new kind of tycoon in China
-
Europe’s forgotten equities offer value, growth and strong cash flows
Opinion Jonathon Regis, co-portfolio manager, Developed Markets UCITS Strategy, Lansdowne Partners, highlights forgotten equities he'd put his money in