Italian gas demand to rise as restrictions ease

Italy's industrial gas demand was expected to rise today as the country emerges from a two-month Covid-19 lockdown.

Restarts at factories and construction sites should lift industrial gas demand, which gas system operator Snam forecasts will reach 37.4mn m³ today. This would be up from 31.7mn m³/d on working days last month and the highest since 38.3mn m³ on 17 March.

The government on 22 March approved a decree halting all non-essential industrial activity. Industrial consumption fell to 29.7mn m³/d last month from the three-year average for April of 38.1mn m³/d.

Industrial demand was already showing signs of recovery in the second half of April, with some factories returning in the week after Easter, including steel mills.

One steel mill said last week that steelmakers plan to boost output to as much as 70-80pc of capacity from this week, having previously been limited to 40-50pc.

By Jacopo Casadei

source: Argus Media