Energy firm Eni says it will only receive half the gas requested from Russia after two days of shortfalls.
Italy has become the latest of a host of European countries to report further cuts in its Russian gas supply.
The EU has made moves to wean itself off Russian fossil fuels in response to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, banning most oil imports by the end of 2022. Such a move would trigger a series of measures aimed at reducing consumption, including rationing the gas to selected industrial users under existing contracts, ramping up the production at coal power stations and asking for gas imports from other suppliers.
Germany has accused Gazprom of attempting to push up energy prices by sharply reducing supplies, but the energy firm said it was due to the delayed return of equipment serviced by Germany's Siemens Energy in Canada. Russia's payment demand was seen as an attempt to boost the rouble after it was hit by Western sanctions. Greater foreign exchange demand for roubles is likely to increase demand and push up the currency's value.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ukraine news live: Russian troops 'poisoned by cherries they stole'; millionaires 'trying to flee Russia'; Ukrainian forces 'destroy ship in Black Sea'Ukraine latest as the UK's MoD says documents indicate thousands of Russian millionaires are trying to flee their country; the British head the armed forces predicts Putin cannot take control of Ukraine; report says Russian troops were poisoned by cherries they stole.
Read more »
‘Unity’: Macron, Scholz, Draghi in Kyiv for crunch Zelensky talksFormer Russian leaders says of trip that ‘European fans of frogs, liverwurst and spaghetti love visiting Kiev’.
Read more »
TfL: Union warns of possible bus strikes across LondonMany of London's bus drivers and staff could soon strike over proposed changes to routes in central London.
Read more »
Here’s All the World Leaders Who Have Visited UkraineGermany's Olaf Scholz, France's Emmanuel Macron, and Italy's Mario Draghi arrived in Kyiv today.
Read more »
What is each train operator planning to do during the rail strikes?Half of Britain’s rail lines will be closed during strikes on June 21, 23 and 25
Read more »
Yield curves help predict economic growth across the rich worldThis week the US “yield curve” inverted. Our archive article explains why such inversions often foreshadow economic turmoil
Read more »