Russia warned it could halt the gas flow from Russia to Germany via pipelines in response to Berlin's decision last month to end the controversial new Nord Stream 2 pipeline's opening. Russia provides 40% of Europe's gas.

"We have every right to take a matching decision and impose an embargo on gas pumping through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday.

Novak also warned that oil prices could more than double to $US300 ($NZ440) a barrel if the US and its allies ban Russian oil imports, a vital source of revenue for the country following its effective exclusion from Western financial markets.

Bank of America analysts, on the other hand, stated that if the majority.