Germany initiated a landmark trial over the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage as an unseasonable US heatwave pushed PJM electricity prices above $1,000 per megawatt-hour. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone strikes hit two Russian refineries, triggering retaliatory attacks that cut power to 600,000 people in Ukraine.
Global market
The Higher Land Court of Hamburg opened the trial into the Nord Stream pipeline bombings, where Ukrainian citizen Serhii K. faces charges as a war crime accomplice. In the United States, spot electricity prices in PJM Interconnection soared above $1,021 per megawatt-hour as heat collided with planned maintenance taking 62,000 MW offline. In commodities, a strike by 1,020 union workers at BHP’s Escondida copper mine in Chile drove copper futures above $6.70 per pound. Furthermore, India’s natural gas demand dropped by 1.5 million tons as Middle East conflict curtailed LNG shipments, according to Wood Mackenzie, while China’s coal imports fell 6% year-on-year to 43.37 million tons in September.
Russia & CIS
Ukrainian drones struck oil refineries in Russia’s Saratov and Ryazan regions, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reported, following air defense interceptions of 902 drones overnight. In response, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak raised the possibility of a moratorium on zeroing the diesel fuel damper. Concurrently, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev announced that the first commercial contracts for Russian diesel exports to the US would be signed in coming days. In Ukraine, Russian missile and drone strikes damaged 26 energy facilities, including all three Kyiv combined heat and power plants and Trypilska TPP, leaving 600,000 people without electricity across six regions.
Armenia
Drone strikes on Russian refineries and retaliatory attacks destroying Ukrainian energy infrastructure set a tense regional context for Armenia. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak’s statement on stabilizing domestic fuel supplies and upcoming US-Russia diesel export contracts reduce fuel deficit risks across the EAEU. Meanwhile, retail prices for petrol, diesel, and compressed natural gas in Armenia remain stable. Natural gas imports from Russia and generation at the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant operate normally under long-term EAEU trade agreements, insulating the domestic market from price fluctuations recorded by international market price assessments.