Prices of EUROPE GAS stabilize as the market waits for new stimuli
The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas were mostly unchanged on Friday morning, amid a muted market and some profit-taking. Weather and supply forecasts remained the same.
By 1004 GMT, the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF hub had fallen by 0.37 euros to 45.91 euro per megawatt (MWh) or $14.21/mmBtu.
The contract for January was lower by 0.42 euros, at 46.33 Euro/MWh.
The day-ahead contract in Britain fell by 0.85 pence, to 114.50 p/therm. Meanwhile, the January contract was down 1.79 pence, at 116.65 pence/therm.
A trader commented that the day was "a little sluggish", adding that this slight decline was due to a correction in a trend upward.
He said that the market wasn't really ready to drop from its current levels which are still near one-year highs.
Analysts at Energi Danmark wrote in a report that gas prices had eased during the week due to milder weather and increased wind. This follows a period of temperatures below average.
The increase in the previous week was not as large as the losses, they said.
Analysts at Engie EnergyScan stated that despite the risk factors arising from weather forecasts and Russian gas supplies through Ukraine as well as Asian demand for LNG, the market was still reluctant to increase any sales.
They added, "For the time being, profit taking is limited."
In his morning weather forecast, LSEG's Georg Mueller stated that the forecast for the two coming weeks is unchanged. Next week will be relatively mild with unsettled temperatures and a cooler week following next week.
Gazprom, a Russian gas company, said that it will send the same amount of gas via Ukraine to Europe on Friday as it did the day before.
Gas Infrastructure Europe released the latest figures showing that Europe's storage sites for gas are now 86.65% filled, which is more than 10 percentage points less than they were in 2023.
The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was down by 0.11 euros at 67.52 euro per metric ton.
(source: Reuters)
