* Adds Spanish steel suspension, British government comment
By Andrew Mills and Guy Faulconbridge
DOHA/LONDON Oct 11 (Reuters) - Qatar, the world's largest
seller of liquefied natural gas (LNG), told consumers it was
powerless to cool energy prices prices as British steelmakers
said they could be forced to halt output in the face of soaring
costs.
The rebound in economic activity after the easing of
coronavirus lockdowns has laid bare a shortage of natural gas
stocks and other fuel supplies, causing blackouts in some
countries.
To keep factories open and homes heated, industry executives
and governments are having to pay much more for energy and
revert to coal and oil, the most-polluting fossil fuels.
As some generators switched to burning oil, crude futures
jumped to multi-year highs on Monday, with analysts predicting
that prices will stay strong.
LNG prices, which sank to record lows at the height of
pandemic lockdowns, have surged this year to record highs, but
Qatar said it has no supplies available to calm the market. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/qatar-energy-minister-kaabi-unhappy-with-high-gas-prices-2021-10-11
"We are maxed out, as far as we have given all our customers
their due quantities," said Qatar energy minister Saad al-Kaabi.
"I am unhappy about gas prices being high."
Across the globe, the high prices are pressuring governments
and industry, which has warned of the risk of job losses and
costs being passed on to customers and consumers.
Steelmakers in Britain https://www.reuters.com/business/uk-steel-makers-warn-crisis-due-power-prices-2021-10-11
said they may have to shut down production and would face dire
consequences unless the government helped.
The government was listening to industry concerns and
discussing whether further action was needed, Prime Minister
Boris Johnson's spokesman said on Monday.
In Spain, steelmaker Sidenor https://www.reuters.com/article/spain-energy-sidenor-idAFL8N2R72S9
said it had already suspended production at a plant near Bilbao
in the north of the country after increased energy costs had
driven up overall production costs by 25%.
In China, the world's second-largest economy and top
exporter, the government has sought to boost coal supplies, but
the largest provincial economy in China's northeast rust belt https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-rust-belt-province-warns-more-power-shortages-energy-crisis-2021-10-11
on Monday said it was grappling with worsening power shortages.
The shortfalls sent Chinese energy and petrochemicals
futures to multi-year and record highs on Monday.
Demand from data processing added to the strain.
The Dutch Data https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/dutch-data-centres-feel-pinch-electricity-price-surge-2021-10-11
Center Association has asked political leaders to cap
electricity prices, provide corporate tax breaks or introduce
subsidies in support of businesses investing in cleaner energy.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbrige, Sarah Young and Nina Chestney
in London, Andrew Mills in Doha, Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam,
Vincent West in Bilbao and Emily Chow in Shanghai
Writing by Barbara Lewis
Editing by David Goodman)
