European gas surges 8% after price cap proposal
The price of European gas futures surged 8% on Wednesday after the European Commission proposed the price ceiling the day before, setting the cap at €275 per megawatt-hour (MWh).
"A price cap at the levels that the commission is proposing is not in fact a price cap," Greece's Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas told CNBC in an interview, adding that "nobody" can afford to buy gas at this price for an extended period of time and added a cap "between €150 and €200 would be more realistic."
UK natural gas futures for delivery in December soared by 8.68% to 298.100 pence per therm at 11:25 am CET. Dutch TTF natural gas futures, which serve as the benchmark across the continent, for settlements in December, rose 7.32% selling at €128.400 per megawatt hour at 11:45 am CET.