The situation in the Italian and European steel market is "very critical today, so much so that several companies are at risk of closure," said Alessandro Banzato, president of Italian steel producers' association Federacciai, commenting on the recent surge in energy and gas prices. "If we do not intervene immediately to try to mitigate an energy cost that is now unsustainable, not only for families but also and above all for businesses, the great risk is that many [companies] will have to stop and that we will not be able to engage the recovery we are currently trying to ride," he added.
"The problem, as minister Matteo Salvini rightly pointed out today, concerns all Italians and their families but, I stress, also all energy-intensive companies like ours, companies that are at the base of national manufacturing production, historically an important axis of the economy of our country. It is therefore urgent that Prime Minister Draghi open a work and discussion table in order to find, in the shortest possible time, effective and suitable solutions to solve or at least contain this problem," Mr. Banzato stated.
Yesterday, due to the news of lower flows of Russian gas in the Yamal-Europe pipeline towards Germany, gas prices set a new record of over €160 per megawatt hour. Meanwhile, the prices of European gas futures have reached and exceeded the threshold of US$2,000 per thousand cubic meters.