European Gas Prices Soar as Putin Says a New Ukraine Transit Deal Is Unlikely

Europe’s benchmark natural gas prices soared on Friday by the most in a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the chances of a new deal for Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine are low. Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures, the benchmark for Europe’s gas trading, jumped early on Friday in Amsterdam by as much as 5%, before giving up some of the gains by midday. As of 12:24 p.m. Amsterdam time, prices were still rising, by 3.3% on the day, at $49.27 (47.23 euros) per megawatt-hour (MWh). On Thursday, Putin said…