EUROPE GAS - Prices stable as temperatures drop, wind power increases
The Dutch and British wholesale gas price remained unchanged on Tuesday morning, as a result of a steady demand for gas in the heating sector due to cooler temperatures.
LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract was 32.05 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), or $11.07/mmBtu at 0811 GMT. This is an increase of 0.13 Euro.
The British gas front-month price increased by 0.38 pence to 79.68 pence a therm.
The British day-ahead contracts was up 0.45p at 80p/therm.
LSEG data shows that in Northwest Europe, the non-local distribution zones demand (which includes power stations) is expected to drop by 213 gigawatt-hours/day, to 1,988 GWh/d, for the day ahead, as wind power ramps-up.
In a daily research report, LSEG analyst Saku Jussila said that "it (wind power output is expected to be above normal until Saturday and then drop towards the next week."
The LSEG data revealed that the demand for local distribution zones, including home heating, is expected to increase by 230GWh/d, reaching 1,719GWh/d in the day ahead.
Last week, the European Commission announced that it would ban Russian LNG imports to the EU a year sooner than anticipated as part of its 19th package against Moscow.
The market is not concerned about the EU's efforts to accelerate the phase out of Russian gas. Instead, it is focused on negative signals like rising inventories across the continent or rising Norwegian flows following the end the maintenance season, according to analysts at Mind Energy in a daily report.
Gas Infrastructure Europe has released the latest data showing that Europe's gas storage is 81.9% filled.
The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was down by 0.03 euros at 76.12 euro per metric ton. (Reporting by Susanna Twidale, Editing by Harikrishnan Nair).
(source: Reuters)
