EUROPE GAS-Prices stable amid warmer and windier weather

The Dutch and British wholesale prices for gas were not much different on Friday, as the expectation of a warmer, windier climate helped offset concerns about storage levels. This was due to a lower demand for immediate gas from softer weather.

LSEG data shows that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF Hub was down 0.27 euro at 48.90 Euro per Megawatt Hour (MWh), which is $15.07 mmbtu as of 0923 GMT.

The Dutch day-ahead contracts was up by 0.80 euro at 49.50 Euro/MWh.

The day-ahead contract in Britain was up 0.37 pennies at 125.50 pence per therm.

Yuriy Onyshkiv, LSEG analyst, said that the current milder-than-normal conditions and the windier weather are reducing gas demand. Britain is on track to receive the first storage injections since the beginning of the year.

He added that gas storage sites in North-West Europe are expected to be around 46% full on February 1, which is in line with EU-wide intermediate storage targets.

Onyshkiv stated that this eased the short-term pressure on storage, but concerns about storage refilling during the summer still remain.

Gas Infrastructure Europe data shows that Europe's storage sites for gas are currently 57.6% filled, compared to 73.8% at the same point last year.

In a morning note, ING analysts stated that "the market and member nations are increasingly concerned about the task to refill storage during the injection season as well as the fact the forward curve does not provide any incentive to store gasoline for the winter of next year."

Analysts at ING said that the talk about subsidizing storage has grown.

LSEG data shows that summer prices are 5.02 euro higher than the winter equivalent.

The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was up by 0.19 euros, at 80.95 euro per metric ton.

(source: Reuters)