A colder winter will increase demand for energy, and Asian importers will buy it more actively. For Europe, this means a surge in prices if Russia keeps supplies at the current low level.
How the winter will go in Europe will depend on the weather situation in Asia - China, South Korea and Japan, according to analysts Bloomberg.
These three countries are the largest importers of energy. If the weather in these countries is more severe and Russia keeps energy supplies to Europe at low levels, the prices for European consumers will jump because of lack of resources.
Europe is preparing for winter by increasing imports of LNG to fill its storage facilities and restarting mothballed coal-fired power plants. LNG and coal prices are already breaking records because of these preparations.
In the event of a cold winter, Japan and South Korea will start fighting with Europe for resources. China is in a better position: low demand for electric power and record coal production allowed the country to accumulate maximum reserves.
In Europe, a 15% reduction in winter gas consumption was agreed upon. In addition, Germany was offered an energy-saving option to forego Russian gas.