German Economy Minister Robert Habeck expects gas prices to fall soon as Germany is making progress on its storage targets; and won’t have to pay the high asking prices currently commanding the market, he said.
“As a result, the markets will calm and go down,” he said, adding that they had shot up recently. This is due to high demand as well as market speculation, which could not be sustain long term.
Germany’s gas storage facilities are 83% full and will hit 85% in September, Habeck said at an energy event. Germany has set a goal for gas storage levels to be 85% filled by Oct. 1 and 95% filled by Nov. 1.
Habeck also reiterated that Germany will not allow a Lehman Brothers-style collapse to happen to its gas market.
“I promise on behalf of the German government that we will always ensure liquidity for all energy companies, that we don’t have a Lehman Brothers effect on the market,” said Habeck, referring to the U.S. investment bank’s collapse, which helped trigger the 2008 financial crisis.