European gas prices have climbed to their highest level since March as geopolitical risks, shortage fears and colder weather grip the market. The Israel-Hamas war and damage to the pipeline between Finland and Estonia are causing disruption to the gas sector. And with the first Arctic cold blast into western and central Europe forecast for this weekend, more households will be flicking on the thermostat as temperatures drop. The benchmark month-ahead European gas price has climbed to its highest level since late February, closing at €53.29 per megawatt hour – up from €25 per megawatt hour in July. UK gas prices have also gained this week, with the day-ahead price the highest since early April at 121p a therm, and the month-ahead contract the highest since mid-March at 133p a therm. Gas climbed at the start of this week, as Israel suspended production at the Tamar gas field in the eastern Mediterranean because of security fears. The mysterious damage to the Balticconnector pipeline and parallel Estlink telecommunications cable between Estonia and Finland has also shaken the market, with Helsinki saying last night that the involvement of a state actor in this job could not be ruled out. Rising gas prices will squeeze consumers and businesses this winter, and could also undermine central bank efforts to bring down inflation to target. The world’s largest ever video games deal has moved closer to completion this morning, with the UK competition regulator approving Microsoft’s $69bn (£54bn) acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has announced that it will now allow the deal, after Microsoft adjusted it following the CMA’s initial decision to block it. The tech company will now sell Activision Blizzard’s cloud gaming rights outside Europe to Activision’s French rival Ubisoft, which addresses the CMA’s concerns that the takeover would hurt competition. The CMA said: "The new deal will stop Microsoft from locking up competition in cloud gaming as this market takes off, preserving competitive prices and services for UK cloud gaming customers. It will allow Ubisoft to offer Activision’s content under any business model, including through multigame subscription services. "It will also help to ensure that cloud gaming providers will be able to use non-Windows operating systems for Activision content, reducing costs and increasing efficiency." The agenda • 7.45am BST: French inflation report for September • 8.45am BST: IMF/World Bank hold plenary session of their annual meeting in Marrakech • 10am BST: eurozone industrial production for August We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
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