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The energy price shock that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago is fresh in the minds of European policymakers as the conflict in Iran once again drives oil and gas prices higher. Experts, however, think this time could be different.
Fears of a full-blown energy crisis on that scale — which saw oil top more than $120 a barrel by June 2022, gas prices soar, household energy bills rise, and eurozone inflation hit a record 9% — may yet be overblown, according to investment strategists.
Brent crude
, the global oil benchmark, has retreated from the near-$120 per barrel seen earlier in the week, as the International Energy Agency agreed on Wednesday to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from its emergency reserves. European natural gas prices, as measured by the Dutch TTF futures benchmark, also pulled back from a three-year high of 63.77 euros per megawatt-hour and were last seen under 50 euros per MWh on Wednesday.
