IMF warns of severe recession across Europe in the event of a Russian gas embargo - FT

International Monetary Fund, on Tuesday, warned that a Russian gas embargo would lead to severe recessions in eastern Europe and Italy if countries around the world hoarded their own scarce supplies, the Financial Times reported.

The IMF predicted that unless liquid natural gas was shared and prices were artificially held down, any Russian action to stop supplying Europe would trigger economic contractions of more than 5% over the next year in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Italy, the newspaper added.

Reuters reported on Monday that Russia's Gazprom had told customers in Europe it could not guarantee gas supplies because of "extraordinary" circumstances, adding to fears that Moscow may not restart the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Thursday.