Wakeup call: Germany blinks

Wakeup call: Germany blinks
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor. (Image: Getty)
Bernard Hickey
‘Too essential to stop’ – Oil prices edged back overnight from their 14-year highs hit late yesterday after Germany downplayed US talk of an immediate outright ban on exports of Russian oil and gas. Brent crude hit US$139/barrel (NZ$203) yesterday after US secretary of state Anthony Blinken said there was discussion of an outright and immediate full embargo of all Russian oil and gas exports. But prices fell from those highs overnight after German chancellor Olaf Scholz said this morning that Russian gas imports were &ldq...