Agencies have quoted Germany’s central bank that the country’s economy will shrink by more than 3 percent in 2023, if Russian energy supplies are halted.
And the bank continued, commenting that this “would be the worst recession outside the recession periods provoked by the (Covid-19) pandemic and the global financial crisis,” according to the American “Bloomberg” agency, yesterday, Saturday.
And German economic institutes warned last April that the immediate halt to Russian imports of oil and natural gas would damage production worth 232 billion US dollars over the next two years.
And “Bloomberg” added that after Russian President Vladimir Putin cut gas flows to Europe by 60 percent, experts in the administration of German Chancellor Olaf Schultz last week put together the scenarios, none of which resulted in sufficient reserves to withstand the cold of winter. next.
On Thursday, Germany, which still depends on Russia for more than a third of its gas supplies, raised the threat level to the second highest “alert” stage, and if pressure intensifies, Germany could start rationing supplies.
German factory manufacturing orders have fallen over the past three months, costs have risen and confidence has collapsed, and Germany’s Ifo gauge has fallen unexpectedly this month, which is closely watching the business outlook.
The Bloomberg Agency report indicated that German companies are currently preparing to reduce energy for a long time, including BASF, the largest chemical maker in Europe, which may reduce its production due to the high cost of gas, which is used as an intermediate in production and electricity generation.
And BMW, the world’s largest luxury car maker, might buy electricity instead of burning gas at its power plants.
The gas shortage crisis has already extended far beyond Germany, as 12 EU member states are affected, 10 countries have issued an early warning under the Gas Security Regulation, and the rising European demand for LNG is also expected to affect poor countries around the world. As it struggles to compete for shipments.
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