From ZeroHedge:
Fertilizer producer CF Industries Holdings Inc halted two fertilizer plants in the UK on Wednesday, according to a company press release.
CF Industries Holdings, a top manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products, released a statement today indicating that its Billingham and Ince, UK, manufacturing facilities suspended operations "due to high natural gas prices." There was no timeframe on when the plants would reopen. But reasonably, one would suspect when gas prices come back down.
Jim Reid, the chief credit strategist at Deutsche Bank, told clients today that in the "26 years of having a Bloomberg terminal, I've never pulled up so many gas price graphs as I have over the last 24 hours."
Reid is looking at benchmark UK natgas front-month contract has risen almost 400% since March, from 40 pence per megawatt-hour to 194 pence intra-day, before closing around 164.
The credit strategist describes tight supplies as a significant driver in the melt-up of gas prices, stemming from dwindling Russian gas flows to Europe.
He also noted power prices are rising as Europe's transition to a low-carbon future hit a stumbling block as wind speeds in the North Sea are among the slowest in 20 years, idling turbines.
CF's plants produce ammonium nitrate fertilizers that are made from natgas....
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