Electricity to cost about €0.15 per kWh in August

More than 80% of households will pay around €0.15 per kilowatt-hour in their electricity bills, after the subsidies announced Thursday by the minister of environment and energy. Energy providers have agreed to absorb most of the rising energy costs.

The decision was made easier by drops in wholesale prices over the past few days. But the energy markets remain volatile and uncertain, especially after recent developments in the Middle East that have raised the prospects of a wider confrontation.

Futures contract prices rose somewhat in the TTF futures exchange in the Netherlands. [AMNA]