EU gas companies ready to give in to Putin’s ruble demand Business

ggood morning.

There are signs that EU unity in the face of Russia’s gas blackmail is beginning to crumble.

Several major European energy companies – including Germany’s Uniper, Italy’s ENI and Austrian rival OMW – are reportedly preparing to make payments for Kremlin gas to Russian bank accounts.

This is despite Brussels urging companies not to give in to Putin’s demands, saying it would breach sanctions.

But there are still uncertainties over a mechanism that allows companies to open two Gazprombank accounts, letting the Russian lender convert payments into roubles.

Companies appear to be exploiting this workaround, and the bloc has published guidelines that appear to encourage this.

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What happened overnight

Asian markets posted much-needed gains on Thursday after a tough week.

The Shanghai Composite was up 0.83pc at 0330 GMT, with the Hang Seng up 1.62pc.

coming today

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