Gazprom to increase gas to EU

Bullish for the open, The Russian energy giant, Gazprom has been reported by Politico to have said on Friday that it would not restart the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany as planned.

''Russia’s Gazprom said on Saturday it would increase its shipments of gas to Europe via Ukraine, according to media reports.

The development comes after the Russian energy giant said on Friday that it would not restart the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany as planned for Saturday, after a three-day maintenance break. 

The company said it would ship some 42.7 million cubic meters of natural gas through Ukraine to Europe on Saturday, Reuters reported. Flows from the entry point at Sudzha were slightly higher compared to Friday’s 41.3 million cubic meters, but that doesn't make up for the shortfall in gas that was expected to flow from Nord Stream 1 on Saturday, the agency said.''

This is a positive development for markets and particularly the euro which has been struggling due to the economic ramifications for the eurozone on the back of the Ukraine crisis on its doorstep and reliance on the Russian energy supply. 

Europe has been accusing Russia of weaponising energy supplies in what Moscow has called an "economic war" with the West. However, Moscow has blamed Western sanctions and technical issues for supply disruptions.

The sentiment could be helpful to a battered euro at the start of the week that is otherwise in the hands of the bears:

EUR/USD Price Analysis: Bears eye a move into test 0.9900