Ukraine turns Putin’s neo-Tsarist empire into the Saudi Arabia of food (and energy)
Chicago wheat futures have hit $9.32 a bushel, the highest since the hunger riots before the Arab Spring.
Do not confuse this with inflation.
Rocketing commodity prices are a transfer of wealth to exporters of raw materials. For Europeans at the sharp end, it acts like a tax, leaving less to spend elsewhere. It is deflationary for most of the economy.
If it continues for long, we will slide into recession.
Ukraine turns Putin’s neo-Tsarist empire into the Saudi Arabia of food, controlling 30pc of global wheat exports and 20pc of corn exports.
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Telegraph 24 February 2022
Russian gas exports to Europe through Ukraine jumped almost 38% on Thursday and are expected to increase by another 24% on Friday as the EU finalizes a package of sanctions that largely spared Moscow’s energy industry.
The higher flows are an awkward reminder of Europe’s dependency on Moscow for energy. Russia is the continent’s biggest gas supplier, providing more than a third of the region’s needs.
Bloomberg News 25 February 2022
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