JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia increases gas flows to Europe, pushing down prices” – Reuters
“… On Tuesday, Russia[‘s] Gazprom … said it had started to refill its European gas storage. … push[ing] down spot prices in the region although analysts said Moscow would have to do more to ease concerns in Europe to lead to a more significant drop in prices. … Gas prices have risen this year because of factors including low gas inventories and increased demand following the economic recovery since the easing of COVID-19 lockdowns,
as well as tighter-than-usual supplies from Russia. … Overall European gas storage levels stood at 75.6% of capacity on Monday compared with 93.9% a year earlier ….”
An additional Russian gas pipeline, the newly completed Nord Stream 2 that runs directly from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, still needs regulatory approval from the EU and Germany itself.