Russia has started its gas supply to Europe after a 10-day break, news reports Bloomberg .
Nord Stream 1, the largest gas pipeline connecting Germany to Russia, reopened on Thursday. It takes time for gas supplies to return.
Currently, gas orders indicate that the current will return to 40 percent capacity, i.e. the level before the outage.
The opening of the gas taps brings relief to the continent, which has rushed to stockpile fuel for the winter. Without Russian gas, Europe probably won’t have the guts to heat houses in winter. This is a massive financial risk, writes Bloomberg.
Politicians have prepared for the worst. On Wednesday, the EU spoke about its intentions to curb gas consumption by 15 percent.
Commercial bank Goldman Sachs expects prices to drop if gas flow returns to 40 percent capacity. President of Russia Vladimir Putin however, has announced that gas supplies could drop to just 20 percent as early as next week.
Many see that Russia will benefit from its influence if Europe is left guessing.
Concerns about gas shortages have spread widely in the market. For example, the euro fell to parity with the dollar.