Russia will begin to invoice European gas buyers in roubles, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, in a move that lifted natural gas prices and boosted the Russian currency.
“The collective west has killed all trust in their currencies,” Putin added as he announced the move. Moscow would “in the shortest possible time” implement measures to transfer invoicing for natural gas supplies into roubles for “so-called unfriendly countries”, he said.
Gas futures tied to TTF, Europe’s wholesale gas price, closed about 9 per cent higher on Wednesday at €107 per megawatt hour, after jumping as high as €132. Prices are six times higher than a year ago.