Kommentar: Reiche handelt gegen den eigenen Grundsatz – ihr bleibt kaum eine Wahl
Die Wirtschaftsministerin lässt den bundeseigenen Importeur mehr Gas einkaufen. Das ist teuer, aber kaum vermeidbar. Und bald wird der Staat dieses Rettungsinstrument verlieren.
Federal Economy Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) has pressured the state-owned gas importer Sefe to buy gas to fill up the reserves. This is surprising, as Reiche sees herself as a champion of the market: in her belief, it always does the right thing. Her action contradicts her own fundamental assumption. The market indeed usually does the right thing, but not always.
Scenarios from traders do not include a supply disruption due to the Hormuz Strait dispute. The result: traders are not buying enough gas in advance, because they consider the chance too low that they can sell it at an even higher price in winter. "Read also: Reiche reverses course - State gas importer Sefe fills gas reserves. What the state does in this situation is wrong: if it acts too early, it fuels speculation and drives up prices; if it acts too late, the uninterrupted gas supply may be at risk. The gray area between activism and inaction is politically difficult to calculate."
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
