Reuters reports that wholesale spot gas prices in the UK increased by 8% in trading on January 18 as a nervous market reacted to news that Russia is considering limiting supplies to the west in a bid to conserve domestic supplies.

Russia is in the grip of its fiercest cold snap for decades as temperatures in Moscow plunge to 20 degrees below, and as much as 50 degrees below in the Siberian city of Tomsk. European gas markets are concerned that their own imports from Gazprom are set to be restricted, meaning that they in turn are less likely to export gas to the UK.

The renewed concerns arise as the European energy sector remains on edge following the tensions about Russian import security at Christmas. The Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel was the latest high profile figure to vocalize these concerns as he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that It’s a question of reducing our dependence on one supplier and another question of diversification of supplies.