Russia aims to drive up gas prices with supply cuts - regulator

The head of Germany's Federal Network Agency, which is tasked with regulating the country's energy markets, sees Russia's throttling of gas supplies as a strategy to drive up prices, he told dpa on Saturday.

"Russia has been supplying significantly less gas to Germany and Europe for days now. This is meant to unsettle us and drive up prices," Klaus Müller said.

Müller explained that the order of the day is to save gas and store it for winter. The government is also organizing additional liquefied gas supplies, he said.

According to the agency report, the current storage levels in Germany are around 56.7%.

Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom reduced the gas flow through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline by 60% in recent days. The company justified it with the delays in the repair of compressor turbines.

However, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the move was politically motivated amid disputes over sanctions imposed by the EU for its invasion of Ukraine.

On Saturday, the agency again described the gas supply situation in Germany as "strained" but stable for the time being.