UK gas supplies dangerously low
It has been revealed that the UK has the equivalent of just eight days worth of gas usage left in storage, as a back up against potential problems with traditional gas supplies. While there is no chance that the UK will run out of gas it is the fact that even backup plans appear to be struggling which has caught the attention of the Conservative party.
Yesterday we saw the UK government advising large gas users in the business sector to be as efficient as possible and reduce their gas usage as much as they can in the short term. Again, there is no chance of gas supplies to the business arena running out but it does call into question the UK government's policy towards gas supply and other utilities.
When you look back at the history of the UK utility market it is not difficult to spot why the UK market is under pressure at the moment. The vast majority of UK utility companies are now owned by foreign parent companies which are perhaps not as "loyal" to the UK market as a UK owner would be. Whether this is a true reflection of what is going on within the marketplace is an interesting point of discussion.
Share this..
Related stories
Oil falls to $97 a barrel
As many traders had forecast we have seen the price of oil collapse to $97 a barrel with a fall of over $4 today. The move has prompted many to ask why we are not seeing such a sharp fall in the price of fuel or a knock on affect to the energy markets where providers had used the rise in the price of oil as the reason for the sharp increase in energy bills. So what is going on?
We...
UK trade gap widens unexpectedly
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that the UK trade deficit grew from a revised £7 billion in December to £8 billion in January. After the initial downward revision of the December figure which had been originally quoted at £7.3 billion many people assumed that the UK was back on a growth path and the deficit for January was forecast to come in at around £6.9 billion....
Read MoreIs the mortgage sector returning to reality?
At a time when mortgage lending in the UK has been "surprisingly strong" yesterday's announcement by the Skipton Building Society of a rewrite of 60,000 mortgage arrangements has not helped the industry. Overnight tens of thousands of mortgage holders in the UK will see their mortgage rate increase from 3.5% to 4.95% costing the average customer an additional £1,500 a year. Could this move cause...
Read MoreNew Car Sales Plummet As Expected
On average last month saw 20% fewer new cars sold than over the same period last year but this base figure seems to hide some real pain for the big players. It seems as though BMW (down 40%), Jaguar (down 41%) and Land Rover (down 58%) were the big losers but we also saw Mercedes-Benz new car sales fall by 35%. This is also on top of with the price reductions which had been mooted for some time!...
Read MoreEU regulations will increase credit card refunds
New EU regulations, which will come into force in the UK in November, will see more and more credit card holders able to reclaim for payments which were not pinpointed at the point-of-sale and eventually turned out to be more "than they had expected". Under the new legislation, which will be part of the EU's payment services directive, credit card holders who dispute their bill will be able to req...
Read More