Lighted BurnerMOSCOW, 13 Mar. A complete rejection of Russian energy sources will lead Switzerland to a loss of four percent of GDP and will cost each inhabitant of the country three thousand francs annually (about 375 thousand rubles. — Ed.), Yngve Abrahamsen, an expert at the ETH Zurich Center for Economic Research, said in an interview with Sonntagszeitung. «A market downturn of this magnitude is large enough to cause an industrial recession,» he said. At the same time, Abrahamsen pointed out that the Swiss economy is recovering from a recession due to the coronavirus, so this growth will help «survive the recession.» At the same time, the expert is sure that a phase-out of Russian energy resources is feasible, but for this you will have to use your own fuel reserves, while a rise in price cannot be avoided. Among the gas substitutes from Russia are called heat pumps and wood heating. The article provides calculations according to which, even for a partial rejection of Russian gas for heating, the federal government in Switzerland will have to spend three billion francs.
The Guardian: Mankind faces famine over UkraineIn addition to rising gas prices, the Swiss should prepare for higher food prices, Mirabaud bank investment specialist John Plassard warned in an interview with Le Matin Dimanche. «The current crisis will undoubtedly make itself felt in the coming months,» he said. According to him, this year, basic foodstuffs, such as dairy products, oils and bakery products, will rise in price by 10-15 percent. The cost of gas in Europe has shown strong volatility in recent days. It grew after Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics on February 21, and Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine on February 24.
Handelsblatt: Europe is on the verge of a big quarrel over the Ukrainian crisis cubic meters. At the end of the summer, the value of a contract with a «day ahead» delivery exceeded $600, and in early October it was already $1,000. A price high of $3,892 was reached on March 7. Experts attributed the rise in prices to several factors: high demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia, limited supply from major suppliers, and low levels of occupancy of European underground storage after a long cold winter and hot summer 2021. Such persistently high prices have never been seen in the entire history of gas hubs in Europe, since 1996.
