EUROPE GAS-European gas prices rise on warmer weather
Dutch and British gas contract prices firmed up on Monday, as warmer weather is expected in Central Europe. This will increase demand for gas. Ship tracking also showed that gas tankers are trying to cross the 'Strait of Hormuz' during the peace talks between the U.S.
ICE data revealed that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract for the TTF hub had increased EUR0.65 to EUR42.80 a megawatt hour.
The British spot contract increased by 1.64 pence to 102.7 pence per thermo.
LSEG analyst Yuriy Onieshkiv said that prices are likely to rise further today after news of the explosion at a factory in Qatar's Ras Laffan industrial City, which could delay production restart.
He added that the rising temperatures in western Europe could also limit French nuclear production, increase gas-fired power generation demand, and pose an upside risk to price.
LSEG data indicated that a slight increase in the gas demand forecast for Britain's day-ahead is expected due to the sideways wind and solar forecasts. The forecast will be raised by 2 mcm/d up to 55 mcm/d.
EDF, the operator of the French nuclear reactor Golfech 2, said that it expects to shut down the reactor later today due to high temperatures in the river. This will be the first time a reactor has been shut down due to a heatwave.
Analysts at Denmark's Mind Energy wrote in a report that negotiations over the weekend had shown a positive result and seemed to have made progress.
After the 60-day ceasefire, analysts at Engie EnergyScan reported that "Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has surged to its highest level since the beginning of the war. However,?mine clearing and?insurance restoration remain major hurdles before full normalization," they said.
Wood Mackenzie's Gas and LNG Director Tom Marzec Manser reported X that four more LNG ships had 'entered the Strait of Hormuz, with their AIS signal on. This is different from the three first LNG ships to enter the Strait since Iran closed the Strait again late last Thursday.
Gas Infrastructure Europe's data shows that EU gas storage facilities were 46.4% full at the end of last year compared to 55.4% during the same period in 2011.
The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was EUR0.28 lower at EUR80.28 per metric ton. (Reporting and editing by Janane Vekatraman; Forrest Crellin)
(source: Reuters)
