Free Republic

European natural gas prices rose after rallying 43% last week as Russia’s steep supply cuts put governments on high alert amid a mounting possibility of rationing. Benchmark futures rose as much as 8.1%, with shipments via the Nord Stream remaining at just 40% of capacity. Supply is likely to remain curbed with Gazprom PJSC’s chief Alexey Miller warning there’s no solution for now for issues with the gas turbines essential for the functioning of the pipeline. That’s forcing major European consumers to withdraw gas from the reserves they have been building for the winter when demand typically peaks. The government...

President Biden said the United States "has never seen anything like Putin’s tax on both food and gas," after the Labor Department announced Friday that inflation hit a new four-decade high in May. The Labor Department said Friday that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price for everyday goods, including gasoline, groceries and rent, rose 8.6% in May from a year ago. Prices jumped 1% in the one-month period from April. Those figures were both higher than the 8.3% headline figure and 0.7% monthly gain forecast by Refinitiv economists. The president, from the Port of Los Angeles...