EUROPE GAS - European prices rise ahead of weekend temperatures drop
Dutch and British gas wholesale contracts traded within a small?range Friday morning. A possible?increase ahead of the temperature drop that is expected this weekend.
By 0826 GMT, the benchmark Dutch 'front-month contract' at the TTF hub was nearly flat at 32.29 Euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), which is $11.22/mmBtu. LSEG data shows that the day-ahead contract increased by 0.25 euro to 32.90 euros/MWh.
The British equivalent day-ahead contract increased by 1.98 cents to 82.90 pence per therm.
Dzmitry Dzmitry Dauhalevich, LSEG analyst, said that temperatures in Northwest Europe will fall this weekend and then recover early next week before returning to normal.
The temperature will be 1 degree Celsius less on the day ahead. Accordingly, LSEG data shows that local distribution zone demand (which refers to the residential gas 'demand for heating) is expected to increase sharply on the day before by 788?gigawatt hours per day, to?4471 GWh/d.
Data analytics firm Kpler stated that EU-27 storage is expected to reach 22% by the end of winter 2025-2026, before rising to 89% on November 1. The company also noted that EU-27 refill needs are higher at 67 bcm - up 17 bcm from last year - increasing sensitivity to LNG flow during injection season.
Gas Infrastructure Europe's data showed that EU-wide storage sites for gas were 35.21% full at the end of last year. This compares to 47.23% last year.
The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was up by 0.51 euros, at 73.05 euro per metric ton.
The European Commission's Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that there are "clear advantages" to the emissions trading system of the European Union, and safeguards in place to?modulate carbon prices if they rise too high.
The comments came after remarks from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who suggested that the EU should be willing to review or delay tightening up measures in the bloc’s emissions trading system. (Reporting and editing by Anil D’Silva; Marwa Rashad)
(source: Reuters)