Prices for EUROPE GAS are down slightly after the previous session's dip
The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas were slightly lower Thursday morning. They traded in a narrow band after a steep decline the previous session. This was due to the revised weather forecast for the end week, which is now warmer and more windy.
It is possible that prices will rise as the cold weather expected for next week may increase gas demand.
By 1001 GMT, the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF hub had fallen by 0.13 euros to 46.93 euro per megawatt (MWh) or $14.85/mmbtu.
The day-ahead contract in Britain fell 0.25 pence, to 116.00 pence per therm.
LSEG analyst Yuriy Onyshkiv stated in a morning report that the outlook for Thursday is somewhat bearish, based on a lower demand forecast of 616 gigawatt hours per day (GWh/d).
Today's price decline is expected to be limited, however, given yesterday's 3.4% drop. Onyshkiv stated that some support could come from the fact we will be heading into another cold snap next week, with temperatures falling below normal.
The analysts at Engie’s Energy scan stated that, while spot prices may remain under pressure due to warmer and more windy weather conditions, near-curve contracts might be more resilient. Next week's forecast is expected to be a little colder than yesterday. A jump in gas demand will also likely occur.
Auxilione, a consultancy, said that the fundamentals of LNG cargoes are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.
The wind power in Britain is still high, with a peak of around 18.5 gigawatts predicted for both Thursday and Saturday.
The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was down by 0.13 euros at 67.73 euro per metric ton.
(source: Reuters)
