Putin, Scholz Agree To Talks On Gas Purchases In Rubles

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held talks on Wednesday, reported Russian state media, and agreed to hold talks between experts on the potential for ruble payments for Russian gas payments.

The call comes ahead of a 31 March deadline set by Putin for Gazprom and the Russian central bank to arrange for ruble payments for gas from “unfriendly countries”, and may ease some fears of imminent disruption of gas flows into Europe.

The Bloomberg Energy Index has been on the back foot in recent trade, perhaps as European gas shortage fears ease. The index has pulled back from around 101.50 to around 100.50 in a matter of minutes.