Prices for gas in Europe fall as storage targets are extended and temperatures rise
The Dutch wholesale gas price fell on Wednesday afternnon amid warmer temperatures. In addition, the European Commission announced a two-year extension to winter storage targets. However, it signaled flexibility regarding interim targets.
According to LSEG, the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF Hub was down 2,15 euros at 41.15 Euros per megawatt hour at 1648 GMT.
The Dutch May contract dropped by 0.90 euros to 41.86 Euro/MWh.
The European Commission on Wednesday proposed that the EU's requirements for gas storage and its targets be retained for another two years. However, it stated that the earlier targets were "indicative", which in EU law means they are not binding.
Prices have been inflated in recent months due to the requirement to meet interim filling goals.
The expectation of lower demand is also a result of warmer temperatures through the week.
Analysts at LSEG predict that total demand for electricity in North West Europe will drop by 500 gigawatt-hours per day over the next day.
The analysts at Energi Danmark stated in a daily report that "the increasing trade war discussions from Donald Trump, and the fears of how it could affect the demand in Europe, added to the negative feeling."
A schedule published on Wednesday showed that the Commission had also postponed announcing an accelerated end to Russian energy imports a second and final time, from March 26 until an unspecified future date.
The April contract on the British market was down 4.18 pennies at 99.49 cents per therm.
The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets fell by 0.28 euros to 68.22 euro per metric tonne. Reporting by Nina Chestney, Susanna Twidale and Kirovan Donovan.
(source: Reuters)
