Europe’s largest energy traders have called on governments and central banks to provide “emergency” assistance to avert a cash crunch as sharp price moves triggered by the Ukraine crisis strain commodity markets.
In a letter seen by the Financial Times, the European Federation of Energy Traders — a trade body that counts BP, Shell and commodity traders Vitol and Trafigura as members — said the industry needed “time-limited emergency liquidity support to ensure that wholesale gas and power markets continued to function”.
The plea follows severe disruptions in commodity markets initially sparked by the pandemic, but significantly worsened in recent weeks by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.