European Gas Jumps as Putin Doubts New Transit Deal Can Be Made

European natural gas advanced after Russian President Vladimir Putin cast further doubt on the likelihood of a deal to maintain flows to Europe via Ukraine, Bloomberg reported.

Benchmark futures settled 4.4% higher after jumping as much as 5% Friday, posting a second consecutive weekly increase. Putin said Thursday it would be impossible to arrange a new transit contract before year’s end, when the current agreement expires.

Central European nations that still buy Russian gas have floated alternative solutions to keep the fuel flowing across Ukraine, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected any arrangement that sends money to Russian coffers while the war continues.

As things stand, there will be no transit of Russian gas from Jan. 1, Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Friday.

Still, talks continue in the remaining days of the year and a last-minute deal cannot be completely ruled out, especially given the history of such arrangements during previous gas disputes between the two nations.

If Ukraine receives any proposals from the European Commission on continuing transit, it is ready to consider them and guarantee “energy security for the region,” Tykhyi said. Some consultations in “different formats” are taking place, but “not with Russia, of course,” he added.

Meanwhile, no capacity on the Slovakia-Austria border point was booked for January at auctions on Friday.