(MENAFN– ecpulse)
Germany`s RWE AG said Tuesday it has formally agreed to supply Ukraine with natural gas this year, as Russia threatens to cut off the coutnry`s supplies.
With the prospect of `gas war` looming on the horizon, Germany was the first country to win the promise of help from the European Union after Russia warned it could cut off supplies over Ukraine`s refusal to pay for gas at a new, inflated price set by Gasprom last week.
The dispute comes as tensions in Eastern Ukraine remain high. Yesterday, pro-Russian separatists yesterday ignored a deadline to leave occupied government buildings in eastern Ukraine and instead seized more buildings as the government failed through on a threatened military crackdown.
This is the first deal by a European energy company after Ukraine`s continuing political crisis put the coutnry`s traditional supplies from Russia at risk.
- Natural Gas fell 0.50% to 4.537 million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange
Diplomatic talks failed to bring any progress over the past few days, but traders are still hoping the outcome of a meeting between representatives of Russia, the US, the EU and Ukraine on Thursday to bring all ends together on a common ground over halting the crisis in Eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, oil futures were trading lower ahead of the US market buzz on Tuesday as investors continued to weigh Ukraine-Russia turmoil.
The outlook crude exports from Libya, South Africa`s largest exporting nation, and growing stockplies in the US also kept prices in a rangebound ahead of the tomorrow`s weekly report from the Energy Information Administration.
- WTI Crude for May delivery fell 0.98% to $103.13 a barrel
- Brent Crude fell 0.62% to $108.39 a barrel
Moving to the precious metals market, the selling pressure was quite evident as the dollar strengthened against a six-currency basket, after US retail sales data on Monday offered a brighter picture for the world`s largest economy.
- Spot Gold fell 0.16% to $1,03.90 an ounce
- Spot Silver fell 1.27% to $19.75 an ounce
- Spot Platinum fell 1.48% to 1,444.38 an ounce
- Spot Palladium fell 2.025 to $795.40 an ounce
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.