MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. The price of gas on the exchange in Europe has surpassed $700 per 1,000 cubic meters for the first time since January 2023 amid statements by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, according to data from London’s ICE.
The MOEX Index with additional IMOEX2 ticker rose by 0.45% as morning trading session started on the Moscow Exchange as of 7:00 a.m. Moscow time (4:00 a.m. GMT), reaching 2,848.3 points.
TASS has compiled the main facts on the economic situation amid Middle East tensions.
Gas
The price of gas on the exchange in Europe has surpassed $700 per 1,000 cubic meters first since January 2023, according to data from London’s ICE.
The price of April futures contracts at the TTF hub in the Netherlands has jumped to around $711 per 1,000 cubic meters, or 59.015 euro per MWh (based on the current exchange rate of euro to dollar, figures for ICE are presented in euros per MWh).
The price growth since the beginning of the day has exceeded 30%.
Oil
The price of natural gas will double, while the oil price may exceed $100 per barrel, Russian President’s Special Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev believes.
The rally in shares of Russian oil and gas companies was the main factor that enabled the MOEX index to break out of consolidation below the 2,800-point mark, VTB’s press service told TASS, citing investment strategist at VTB My Investments Stanislav Kleshchev.
Precious metals
The price of silver futures contracts for May 2026 delivery on the Comex exchange (a division of the New York Mercantile Exchange) has fallen by more than 6%, according to trading data.
By 9:38 a.m. Moscow time (6:38 a.m. GMT), the price of silver had extended losses to 6.58% as it traded at $83.005 per troy ounce. Meanwhile the price of gold futures contracts for April 2026 delivery was up by 0.08% at $5,316 per troy ounce.
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could help drive gold prices to historic highs, with the price of the precious metal likely to climb to $6,000 per troy ounce, Boris Krasnozhenov, head of securities market analysis at Alfa Bank, told TASS.
According to BCS World of Investments analyst Nikolay Maslikov, the average price of gold may total $4,824 per ounce in 2026, while silver will follow gold with greater volatility.
Impact on Russian economy
Russia’s stock market went up as the main trading session started on Tuesday, according to trading data.
The MOEX Index with additional IMOEX2 ticker rose by 0.45% as morning trading session started on the Moscow Exchange as of 7:00 a.m. Moscow time (4:00 a.m. GMT), reaching 2,848.3 points.
As of 10:00 a.m. Moscow time (07:00 a.m. GMT) the MOEX and RTS indices gained 0.45% to 2,848.51 and 1,163.58 points, respectively. As of 10:15 a.m. Moscow time (07:15 a.m. GMT), the indices were up by 0.36% at 2,845.84 points and 1,161.67 points, respectively.
A possible increase in the price of raw materials on world markets caused by the US-Israeli operation against Iran may temporarily push revenues of a number of exporters up, including Russia, US political scientist and analyst John Kavulich told TASS.
Russia will be the "most visible beneficiary," Kavulich noted.
Revenues of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters will increase as a result of rising gas and oil prices on world markets and increased demand due to problems with transporting Qatar's LNG through the Strait of Hormuz, Maria Belova, director of research at the consulting company Implementa, told TASS.
Earlier, experts interviewed by TASS said the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East had led to a significant rise in oil and metal prices, positively impacting prices of Russian oil and gas companies’ shares.
Impact on global economy
The European Union will be hit by a new economic crisis if the conflict in the Middle East lasts more than four weeks, Bloomberg reported, citing analysts.
According to ING’s Carsten Brzeski, dependence on oil and gas from the region makes the EU the most vulnerable large economy to complications of the war with Iran.
Protracted military conflict in the Middle East and constant reductions in oil and gas supplies from the region could lead to a substantial jump in inflation and a sharp fall in production volumes in the Eurozone, European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane told the Financial Times (FT).
The EU may reconsider the ban on Russian LNG in the event of prolonged supply disruptions from Qatar, Finam Financial Group’s analyst Sergey Kaufman told TASS.