Oil jumped nearly 3 per cent on Wednesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilisation, escalating the war in Ukraine and raising concerns of tighter oil and gas supply.

Germany nationalised gas importer Uniper on Wednesday and Britain capped the wholesale cost of electricity and gas for businesses, in Europe’s latest moves to keep the lights on and heaters running this winter as the war in Ukraine escalates.

Oil prices ticked up on Tuesday as Opec and its allies keep producing less than their quotas, but were headed for a fourth monthly decline ahead of an expected further US interest rate hike which may curb economic growth and fuel demand.

German utilities RWE and Uniper are close to striking long-term deals to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar’s North Field Expansion project to help replace Russian gas, three sources familiar with the matter said.

European governments outlined new measures on Monday to cope with potential energy shortages this winter and raced to improve energy networks to share power, with Russian gas flows still running at severely reduced rates amid the Ukraine war.

The German central bank said Monday it was increasingly likely that Europe’s largest economy would shrink for a “prolonged” period as Russia throttled energy supplies to the continent.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to sign contracts for liquefied natural gas (LNG) during his visit to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, his deputy chancellor said, as Germany looks for new partners to replace Russian energy imports.

Sterling was weaker against a robust dollar on Monday, hovering near last week’s 37-year low, with sentiment towards the British currency remaining weak given a darkening economic outlook.

Norway’s central bank is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate again this week and signal a continued rise in the cost of borrowing in the fourth quarter to combat inflation, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.

The German economy is contracting already and will likely get worse over the winter months as gas consumption is cut or rationed, the country’s central bank said on Monday.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has proposed a reduction of the most favoured nation (MFN) tariff on a number of petrol products widely used in industrial production from 20 per cent to 10 per cent in an attempt to bring down the economy’s input cost.

The underlying pressures driving inflation in Canada are likely to peak in the fourth quarter of this year, economists told Reuters, though most see signs fast rising prices are becoming entrenched and warn a recession may be needed to avoid a spiral.

Berlin on Friday took control of the German operations of Russian oil firm Rosneft to secure energy supplies which have been disrupted after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

With India’s recent rice export restrictions, Vietnamese exporters expect to increase shipments and hike prices, industry insiders have said.

The Canadian dollar weakened to its lowest level in nearly two years against the greenback on Friday and Canada’s stock market fell as investors grew cautious ahead of domestic inflation data and a Federal Reserve interest rate decision next week.

Growth in global oil demand is set to grind to a halt in the fourth quarter of this year as an economic slowdown deepens, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, but said it would resume strongly in 2023.

Lower fuel prices caused an unexpected fall in British inflation in August, official figures showed on Wednesday, offering some respite to households and the Bank of England after inflation hit a 40-year high the month before.

German investor sentiment fell further than expected in September as concerns over the country’s energy supply increasingly weigh on the outlook for Europe’s largest economy.

Alphabet unit Google will face damages claims for up to 25 billion euros ($25.4 billion) over its digital advertising practices in two suits to be filed in British and Dutch courts in the coming weeks by a law firm on behalf of publishers.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as worries about tight fuel supplies ahead of winter offset investor concerns about falling demand in China, the world’s biggest crude importer.