Before the Meeting, the smell of gunpowder was strong, and European natural gas "rose first"

On the eve of the General Visit, European gas prices jumped. Markets fear that Russia could face a new round of international sanctions over Ukraine.

The Russian and US governments confirmed on the 4th that Russian President Putin and US President Biden are scheduled to hold a video meeting on the 7th to discuss bilateral relations, the situation in Ukraine and other issues. U.S. intelligence agencies said Russia had assembled about 175,000 troops near crimea and Ukraine's eastern border, a situation similar to the crimea incident in 2014, according to U.S. intelligence.

The U.S. government threatened before the meeting that if Russia launches an offensive against Ukraine, the White House will consider imposing the most severe economic sanctions on Moscow at the level of "nuclear options," which could include severing Russia's ties to the SWIFT international payment system, further including the imposition of new sanctions on Putin's core group and Russian energy producers.

Russia is likely to respond by cutting off supplies of European gas. As tensions between Russia and Ukraine have risen, concerns about Russia's supply of gas to the Eu have increased.

European gas prices rose in response. Dutch gas prices peaked at 96.75 euros per MWh on Tuesday, while the price of the UK gas contract rose 7.1 percent to 246.51 pence per MWh.

The situation in Russia and Ukraine could change the fate of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which has been completed but not yet put into service.

Although the Biden administration opposes the project, it has not tried to stop it. However, Germany last month suspended the approval process for the pipeline until its owners restructure operations, and the pipeline is now facing delays in its operations.

This article is from Wall Street Insights, welcome to download the APP to see more