EUROPE GAS - Prices soar ahead of Trump-Putin Summit
The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas were in a tight range on Friday as the market awaited today's meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract for the TTF hub at 0857 GMT was 1,61 euros higher, at 33.71 Euro per megawatt hour.
The Dutch contract for the day ahead was down by 0.35 euros at 31.30 euro/MWh. In comparison, the British contract was down by 0.17 pences at 78.00 penny per therm.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet in Alaska this Friday. The U.S. President's hopes for a ceasefire on Ukraine remain uncertain, but Putin has made a last-ditch offer of a nuclear deal which could save both men face.
The market is awaiting the outcome of Trump-Putin's meeting. The meeting will take place at 2130 CET, which is 1930 GMT. This means that it won't affect trading today. This will help to keep volatility down despite a fundamentally bearish overall picture, said LSEG Analyst Ulrich Weber.
Auxilione analysts said that it is likely the meeting will be used as a framework for determining if an agreement can be reached, and Russia's expectations.
LSEG data indicated that the peak of a north-west European heatwave should have passed, and temperatures on Monday should be 3.5°C lower.
The total Norwegian export nominated has risen by 3 million cubic metres (mcm), per day, to 321 mcm/d after a minor problem at the Kollsnes Gas Processing Plant yesterday was resolved.
The French nuclear capacity may be reduced by 2 gigawatts from Thursday's 42.6 GW due to the curtailment of several plants.
Rystad Energy, in a recent research note, said that EU storage levels have risen to 72.5%. The gap has narrowed to 15.4 percentage point year-on-year.
The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was down by 0.23 euros at 70.73 euro per metric ton. (Reporting and editing by Nina Chestney; Marwa Rashad)
(source: Reuters)
