Putin destroyed the Russian economy. The only thing he can still count on is oil, Amos Hochstein, an advisor to US President Joe Biden, said in an interview with CNBC.
Putin’s war in Ukraine is putting a strain on the Russian economy. The Kremlin may mock the West for its economic sanctions, but the numbers speak for themselves. According to the Russian Central Bank’s estimate, the Russian economy will fall by 3.5 percent this year. And it won’t grow again next year either.
Also last year, Russia was the main supplier of natural gas and petroleum products to the EU. But the war in Ukraine changed everything. “Despite the available production and transmission capacities, Russia has reduced its gas supplies to the EU by nearly 50% year-on-year since the beginning of 2022,” according to the International Energy Agency.
“Russia will no longer sell gas to Europe, so it only has oil left to finance this war,” Hochstein said.
Brussels plans to temporarily limit the price of gas in the main commercial hub
The European Commission is preparing a series of measures to reduce gas prices, including a “dynamic” ceiling for trading in the main virtual hub Title Transfer Facility (TTF). This mechanism would be in place until the launch of a new price index for liquefied natural gas trading, which could be next spring. This results from the preliminary draft of the Union executive.
“Energy is the number one problem in the world today. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately? ”, Added the councilor Biden, saying that the future of energy lies in renewable sources. According to him, the world should get rid of its dependence on oil and gas.
At the same time, Hochstein has appealed to states in this area to start acting as quickly as possible and create a safer environment for the development of new technologies in the energy sector. He recalled that in the following years the US will spend over 370 billion dollars (nine trillion crowns) on climate and energy programs. The government plans to introduce or increase support for the purchase of electric cars or the installation of solar panels and wind farms. Tax concessions are also provided for nuclear energy and carbon dioxide capture technologies.
Until next winter it is critical. When there is really no Russian gas, energy experts warn
Politicians and families fear the coming winter, the lack of energy and its high prices due to the reduction of Russian supplies. But next winter will be even worse, the leaders of the powerful oil and gas companies warn. Governments should therefore prepare for even bigger demonstrations and strikes than recently took place in France, Germany or the Czech Republic, the CNBC server wrote.
The situation in Czech industry worsened considerably in October. It’s the worst in the past two and a half years
Conditions in the Czech manufacturing sector worsened considerably again in October. The decline in the health of the sector accelerated for the second consecutive month and was the largest since May 2020. In October, the PMI index fell to 41.7, from 44.7 in September. S&P Global reports it. The 50-point level in the index is the dividing line between growth and decline. The index therefore signaled a sharp deterioration in the operating conditions in Czech manufacturing.
