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Gas Prices Soar as Indefinite Halt of Nord Stream 1 Kindles Winter Fears

View of pipe systems and shut-off devices at the gas receiving station of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline in Lubmin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022. (dpa via AP)
View of pipe systems and shut-off devices at the gas receiving station of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline in Lubmin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022. (dpa via AP)
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Gas Prices Soar as Indefinite Halt of Nord Stream 1 Kindles Winter Fears

View of pipe systems and shut-off devices at the gas receiving station of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline in Lubmin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022. (dpa via AP)
View of pipe systems and shut-off devices at the gas receiving station of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline in Lubmin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022. (dpa via AP)

Dutch and British wholesale gas prices soared on Monday morning, reversing most of a downward trend seen the previous week, after Russian gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 were suspended indefinitely over the weekend.

The British contract for day-ahead delivery sky-rocketed 200 pence, or 133% to 350 pence per therm by 0929 GMT, and the within-day contract gained 50 pence to 350 p/therm.

On the continent, the Dutch TTF day-ahead gas contract was up 54.52 euros, or 29% at 245 euros per megawatt hour (MWh).

Further out, Dutch gas for October, the European benchmark contract, gained 59 euros to 268 euros/MWh.

The British October contract was up 146 pence at 546 p/therm.

Prices reacted to a post-market close announcement on Friday from Russia's Gazprom that an oil leak in equipment of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, meant it would stay shut beyond last week's three-day maintenance shutdown.

"Our TTF day-ahead price view today is for prices to pare last week's losses as Europe braces itself for no Russian gas for the foreseeable future and exacerbates fears of a winter supply crunch," Refinitiv analyst Wayne Bryan said in a morning report.

Fundamental drivers were taking a backseat, with Russian rhetoric not supporting a restart of flows via Nord Stream 1 anytime soon, he added.

The Kremlin has repeatedly blamed Western sanctions for the shutdown.

"The market should rise a lot Monday, but the question is for how much and how long, and to what extent the market had already priced this in," analysts at Energi Danmark said in a note.

Europe is losing close to 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas supply per month due to the loss of Nord Stream 1, Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING said.

The latest move also increased nervousness about flows via Ukraine as well as the TurkStream pipeline, going forward, he added.

"What is clear is that the more Russia reduces gas flows to Europe, the less leverage they have over Europe," Patterson said.

Analysts at Sweden's SEB bank said they maintained a Russian gas flow scenario of 10-20% of normal capacity during the winter.

"This would partly maximize Russian geo- and energy security political pressure on the EU, and partly provide Moscow with valuable income," they added.

Anticipating rising market volatility, Finland and Sweden reacted immediately over the weekend by promising liquidity guarantees to energy companies.

European gas storages were 81.55% full as of Sept. 3, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract was down 3.49 euros at 74.40 euros a ton.

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Business

Saudi Arabia Closes 2025 with Historic Industrial Reform, Global Digital Leadership, Record-Breaking Economic Activity

As 2025 draws to a close, Saudi Arabia records a year defined not merely by statistical growth, but by structural transformation across every major sector. (SPA)
As 2025 draws to a close, Saudi Arabia records a year defined not merely by statistical growth, but by structural transformation across every major sector. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Closes 2025 with Historic Industrial Reform, Global Digital Leadership, Record-Breaking Economic Activity

As 2025 draws to a close, Saudi Arabia records a year defined not merely by statistical growth, but by structural transformation across every major sector. (SPA)
As 2025 draws to a close, Saudi Arabia records a year defined not merely by statistical growth, but by structural transformation across every major sector. (SPA)

The second half of December marked a transformative conclusion to the year for Saudi Arabia, defined by a major policy shift to empower the industrial sector, world-class recognition in digital governance, and unprecedented levels of commercial and religious tourism activity.

Industrial empowerment and economic surge

In a decisive move to boost the competitiveness of the national industry, the Cabinet approved the cancellation of the expat levy for licensed industrial establishments. This decision builds on six years of exemptions that have already driven a 56% increase in industrial GDP to over SAR501 billion and a 74% rise in industrial employment.

Global leadership in tech and health

The Kingdom’s digital transformation strategy achieved a major milestone, ranking second globally in the World Bank’s GovTech Maturity Index with a score of 99.64%, placing it in the "very advanced" category.

In healthcare, the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC) was ranked first in the Middle East for oncology and orthopedics and successfully pioneered a novel 3D-printing technique to treat inner ear disorders.

The period by numbers:

SAR30.7 billion: The record value of e-commerce sales in October 2025, marking a 68% annual increase.

68.7 million: The total number of worshippers and visitors received at the two holy mosques during the month of Jumada Al-Akhira.

8 million: The number of visitors to Riyadh Season 2025 since its launch in October.

32.3%: The year-on-year growth in non-oil exports for October 2025.

11.9 million: The number of Umrah performances completed in the month of Jumada Al-Akhira.

95 tons: The quantity of seasonal seeds stored by the Kingdom, setting a new Guinness World Record.

26: The number of awards won by Saudi students at the World Artificial Intelligence Competition for Youth (WAICY), taking 1st place globally.

$160 million: The total value of development loans signed with Mauritania for water and electricity projects.

158,000 tons: The volume of citrus production in the Kingdom as the new season launches.
.9%: The annual inflation rate in Saudi Arabia for November 2025.

12,000+: The number of industrial facilities now operating in the Kingdom, up from 8,822 in 2019.

2: The number of new Dark Sky Reserves accredited in AlUla (Sharaan and Wadi Nakhlah).

As 2025 draws to a close, Saudi Arabia records a year defined not merely by statistical growth, but by structural transformation across every major sector. From welcoming record numbers of tourists and pilgrims to securing top global rankings in digital governance and industrial competitiveness, the Kingdom has effectively translated strategic planning into tangible reality.

These milestones, spanning economic diversification, technological leadership, and international diplomacy, serve as cumulative evidence of a maturing ecosystem.

With every regulatory reform implemented and every global partnership secured this year, Saudi Arabia has done more than catalogue achievements; it has systematically narrowed the distance to its ultimate goals, moving one decisive year closer to the complete realization of Vision 2030.

Business

China’s Factory Activity Snaps Record Slump on Festive Stockpiling

People walk down steps near a residential building area with a view of China Zun, the tallest skyscraper in Beijing, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP)
People walk down steps near a residential building area with a view of China Zun, the tallest skyscraper in Beijing, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP)
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China’s Factory Activity Snaps Record Slump on Festive Stockpiling

People walk down steps near a residential building area with a view of China Zun, the tallest skyscraper in Beijing, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP)
People walk down steps near a residential building area with a view of China Zun, the tallest skyscraper in Beijing, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP)

China's factory activity unexpectedly grew in December, snapping a record eight straight months of decline, lifted by a rise in pre-holiday orders ​as officials seek to spur the $19 trillion economy's manufacturing sector without worsening deflation.

The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.1 in December from 49.2 in November, the National Bureau of Statistics' survey showed on Wednesday, topping the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction and beating a forecast of 49.2 in a Reuters poll.

"Assuming the improvement in the PMIs is borne out in the hard data, we think it will likely be a short-lived upturn in activity on the back of month-to-month swings in fiscal spending rather than the start of a more sustained pick-up," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China economics at Capital Economics.

"The big picture is that the structural headwinds from the property ‌downturn and industrial ‌overcapacity are set to persist in 2026," he added.

Still, the data should ‌give ⁠policymakers ​cause for ‌optimism after choosing to see out 2025 without major additional stimulus to meet the full-year growth target of around 5%.

The production sub-index jumped to 51.7 from 50.0 in November, while new orders climbed to 50.8 from 49.2, marking their strongest performance since March. Supplier delivery times also improved, pushing the production and activity expectations component to 55.5, its highest reading since March 2024.

New export orders remained sluggish, however, edging up to 49.0 from November's 47.6, underscoring the need for officials to boost domestic demand and rely less on US demand, the world's top consumer market, in the face of President Donald Trump's ⁠tariffs.

Huo Lihui, an NBS statistician, said confidence appeared to be improving due to pre-holiday stockpiling, as the world's second-largest economy prepares to celebrate the Lunar ‌New Year in February, pointing to an uptick in the agricultural, food processing ‍and food and beverage sectors.

A separate private-sector PMI ‍published on Wednesday also showed marginal expansion in activity in December, driven by stronger production and domestic demand ‍in the absence of more foreign orders.

DEPRESSED DOMESTIC DEMAND

Ginning up domestic manufacturing without taking further steps to boost consumer demand risks worsening deflationary pressures, however.

In separate data released last week, Chinese industrial firms saw their profits fall 13.1% year-on-year in November, the steepest drop in over a year, suggesting households are not stepping in to pick up the shortfall as a slowing global economy weighs ​on exports.

At an agenda-setting gathering in early December, the ruling Communist Party leadership promised to boost income and stimulate consumption, although similar pledges in the past have struggled to deliver results.

Chinese consumers ⁠have so far been reluctant to spend, held back by an uncertain employment outlook and as a prolonged property crisis drains household wealth.

The official non-manufacturing PMI, which includes services and construction, was at 50.2, after shrinking in November for the first time in nearly three years.

Beijing's policymakers have come to recognize the need to rebalance the economy and transform its production-driven model as tensions with key export markets mount.

"The country's economic development still faces many old problems and new challenges; the impact of changes in the external environment is deepening, and the contradiction between strong supply and weak demand is prominent domestically," the readout of the Central Economic Work Conference said.

In an article published by the flagship party magazine Qiushi Journal in mid-December, President Xi Jinping said there was "overall capacity excess" and that "ultimately consumption is the sustainable driver of economic growth."

Beijing had previously rejected "overcapacity" as unfair criticism by Western governments towards China's industrial policies.

In a nod to those concerns, authorities ‌have this year vowed to crack down on price wars, prune production in some sectors and step up so-called "anti-involution" efforts.

The NBS composite PMI of manufacturing and non-manufacturing was 50.7 in December, compared with November's 49.7.

Business

Xi Says China to Hit 2025 Growth Target of 'Around 5%'

Pedestrians walk along a street in the Central Business District of Beijing, China, 31 December, 2025. (EPA)
Pedestrians walk along a street in the Central Business District of Beijing, China, 31 December, 2025. (EPA)
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Xi Says China to Hit 2025 Growth Target of 'Around 5%'

Pedestrians walk along a street in the Central Business District of Beijing, China, 31 December, 2025. (EPA)
Pedestrians walk along a street in the Central Business District of Beijing, China, 31 December, 2025. (EPA)

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that the country's economy is expected to have grown "around five percent" in 2025, despite "pressure" during a year he described as "very unusual", state media said.

The announcement came in a New Year's Eve speech by Xi to a top political consultative body, reported by state news agency Xinhua.

Such an annual expansion would be in line with the official government target and on par with the five percent growth recorded in 2024.

The world's second-largest economy has come under increasing pressure in recent years, with consumer sentiment having so far failed to recover from a pandemic-induced plunge.

A persistent debt crisis in the property sector, industrial overcapacity and heightened trade conflict with Washington have also darkened the outlook.

"We faced challenges head-on and strived diligently, successfully achieving the main goals of economic and social development," Xi said in his remarks to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Xinhua reported.

"The growth rate is expected to reach around five percent," he said.

He added that "overall social stability was maintained" and an anti-corruption drive was "relentlessly pursued", according to the report.

Experts widely expect Beijing to announce a similar economic growth target for 2026 at a major annual political gathering in early March.

Data released Wednesday offered a positive sign for policymakers, with factory activity in December inching into expansionary territory to snap an eight-month streak of contraction.