Europe's Gas Market in Turmoil: Prices Surge 20% Amid Cold Snap and Geopolitical Storm

European natural gas benchmarks have rocketed over 20% this week—the largest weekly gain in over two years—as brutal Arctic cold snaps collide with low stockpiles and fresh tensions over Iran and Russian supplies. Traders scrambling to cover shorts face a "perfect storm": record LNG imports hit 480 million cubic meters daily, with even Yamal LNG diverting fully to Europe, while French nuclear outages from storms pile on demand.

This volatility exposes the fragility of the continent's energy shift: EU storage drained by 11 bcm in two weeks, no cheap Russian pipe gas in sight, and forecasts of more "Beast from the East" frosts looming. Oil holds steady around $64/bbl despite Trump rhetoric on Venezuela and Hormuz risks, but gas traders warn of prolonged spikes unless weather eases or supplies magically appear.

Globally, contrasts sharpen—China deploys massive 65 GWh BESS (25% of 2025 world total), clean energy stocks rally on AI power hunger, while Trump pushes US coal/gas/nuclear builds to fuel datacenters. Europe's pain underscores the high cost of de-risking from Moscow: higher bills, blackouts looming, and a scramble for spot LNG that Asia also craves. Stay tuned—third-week frosts could break records.

🔎 Source

@songofoil

Europe's Gas Market in Turmoil: Prices Surge 20% Amid Cold Snap and Geopolitical Storm

European natural gas benchmarks have rocketed over 20% this week—the largest weekly gain in over two years—as brutal Arctic cold snaps collide with low stockpiles and fresh tensions over Iran and Russian supplies. Traders scrambling to cover shorts face a "perfect storm": record LNG imports hit 480 million cubic meters daily, with even Yamal LNG diverting fully to Europe, while French nuclear outages from storms pile on demand.

This volatility exposes the fragility of the continent's energy shift: EU storage drained by 11 bcm in two weeks, no cheap Russian pipe gas in sight, and forecasts of more "Beast from the East" frosts looming. Oil holds steady around $64/bbl despite Trump rhetoric on Venezuela and Hormuz risks, but gas traders warn of prolonged spikes unless weather eases or supplies magically appear.

Globally, contrasts sharpen—China deploys massive 65 GWh BESS (25% of 2025 world total), clean energy stocks rally on AI power hunger, while Trump pushes US coal/gas/nuclear builds to fuel datacenters. Europe's pain underscores the high cost of de-risking from Moscow: higher bills, blackouts looming, and a scramble for spot LNG that Asia also craves. Stay tuned—third-week frosts could break records.

🔎 Source

@songofoil

🗳 🇺🇸 OpenAI is in the red and, at this rate, will run out of money by 2027, having overestimated the profitability of AI.

Recent analyses and internal projections indicate annual losses of around $14 billion in 2026, following roughly $8 billion in 2025.

This stems from overestimating near-term profitability, as high inference and data center expenses continue to dominate despite strong user adoption and billions in revenue.

Without repeated massive funding rounds, analysts warn the company could face a cash shortfall as early as mid-27

📎 Pirat_Nation

Delcy Rodríguez announces the departure of Álex Saab from the International Center for Productive Investment

🚨#BREAKING: Australia's controversial "hate speech" laws have passed the Senate, 38 votes to 22, after 10 Liberals voted with Labor.

Follow: @NoticerNews

🇬🇧 Royal Navy turns its back on Middle East as last ship sails home

Move that leaves Britain without naval fighting presence in Gulf for first time since 1980 branded ‘terrible error’

See the 2003 vs 2026 comparison

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/16/britain-lose-last-warship-middle-east/

📎 The Telegraph

🚨🇺🇸🇬🇱 - Greenland PM Tells People to Prepare for Possible Invasion

Greenland’s prime minister said the Arctic island’s population and its authorities need to start preparing for a possible military invasion, even as it remains an unlikely scenario, as President Donald Trump continues to threaten taking over the territory.

“It’s not likely there will be a military conflict, but it can’t be ruled out,” Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a press conference in capital Nuuk on Tuesday.

🔗 Bloomberg

🇪🇺🇺🇸⚡️- The European Union has frozen the procedure to sign last year's trade agreement with the USA.

🇪🇺🇺🇸⚡️- The social-democrats (S&D) and conservative members (EPP) of the EU Parliament have reached an agreement to support the freeze of all EU-US trade negotiations alongside the indefinite freeze of the ratification of the 2025 trade agreement.

Even certain members of the far-right groups (PfE/ECR) are supporting this measure according to various statements.

📢 🇫🇷 🇺🇸 Jordan Bardella, leader of France’s National Rally:

The United States is presenting us with a choice: accept dependency disguised as partnership, or act as sovereign powers capable of defending our interests.

When a U.S. president threatens a European territory while using trade pressure, it is not dialogue—it is coercion. And our credibility is at stake.

Greenland has become a strategic pivot in a world returning to imperial logic. Yielding today would set a dangerous precedent, exposing other European—and even French overseas—territories tomorrow.

The European Union cannot remain silent. The agreement negotiated last summer must be suspended.

Our anti-coercion instruments must be activated, and targeted measures adopted. This is not escalation—it is self-defense.

The choice is simple: submission or sovereignty. Europe must choose freedom, responsibility, and control of its own destiny.

📎 Clash Report

📢 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 Carney: "American hegemony in particular helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security ... this bargain no longer works. Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition ... recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as a weapon. Tariffs as leverage ... "

📎 Aaron Rupar

🇪🇺 🌐 Ursula von der Leyen:

We will not stop in Latin America.

Last year we reached new agreements with Mexico, Indonesia, and Switzerland.

We are working on a new free trade agreement with Australia.

We are also advancing with the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, the UAE, and more.

📎 Clash Report

📢 🇬🇱 🇺🇸 Thousands rally in Greenland’s capital city, chanting “Greenland is not for sale,” after President Trump doubles down on the U.S.’ initiative to acquire the country.

The protest is reportedly the biggest demonstration in the nation’s history.

📎 Fox News