EUROPE GAS-European Gas Prices Fall on Stable Supply and Low Demand
Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas ticked down on Monday morning due to a steady supply and mild weather with windy conditions that limited demand. However, fresh sanctions related to Russia remain a downside risk.
LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract was 32.19 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh) or $11.07/mmBtu at 0843 GMT. This is a decrease of 0.46 Euro.
The Dutch day-ahead contracts was down by 0.10 euros at 31.90 Euro/MWh.
The British gas price for the month ahead fell by 1.28 pence, to 79.15 p/therm. Meanwhile, the price for today dropped by 1 pence, to 78.8 p/therm.
Oleh Skrynyk, LSEG analyst, said: "We expect the prices to trade in a sideways fashion due to stable supply near-term but tightening signs later in this week."
Skrynyk said that the German Emden Gas Receiving Terminal will begin planned maintenance on Thursday. Wind output will also decrease in the next few days, increasing gas demand.
Arne Rasmussen of Global Risk Management said that with European gas stocks at 80%, strong LNG inflows, and mild weather forecasts, gas prices are expected to fall this week.
Rasmussen said that geopolitics and possible sanctions are increasing the risk of a price increase, particularly if the U.S. reacts negatively to Russian exports of Arctic 2 LNG from Russia, which has helped keep LNG prices low and competes with U.S. LNG.
LSEG ship tracking data revealed that a fourth cargo of Arctic LNG 2 arrived at Beihai, China on September 14. This was four days after a second LNG vessel left.
U.S. president Donald Trump stated on Saturday that he was willing to impose new energy sanctions against Russia, provided all NATO countries stopped purchasing Russian oil.
The benchmark carbon contract in Europe was down 0.36 euros at 75.41 euro per metric ton. Nora Buli, reporting from Oslo; Eileen Soreng, editing)
(source: Reuters)
