Prices for Europe GAS are mixed due to stronger winds and lower Norwegian flows
The Dutch and British wholesale gas price were mixed Tuesday morning, due to higher wind production and lower Norwegian supply.
LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract for the TTF hub at 0831 GMT was up 0.59 euro at 32.25 Euro per megawatt hour.
The contract for the day-ahead has dropped by 0.05 euros to 31.75 Euro/MWh.
The British gas front-month contract price increased by 0.35 pence to 79.55 cents per therm. However, the day-ahead was down 0.25 cents at 79.00 cents per therm.
Yuriy Onieshkiv, LSEG analyst, says that the demand for gas by power plants will drop from 1.577 GWh to 266 GWh per day as of tomorrow. This could compensate for a decrease in Norwegian flows into Belgium due to maintenance at terminals.
Tomorrow and Thursday, wind output is expected to increase. Wind power typically reduces the demand for gas in power plants.
The Norwegian exports to continental Europe fell to 186 millions cubic metres (mcm). This is due to the full shutdown of the Zeepipe terminal, which removed 42 mcm in flows.
The UK received the reduced volumes.
The French EDF workers have been on strike since late Monday night for three days. This is part of a larger series of strikes that will be held in September to protest government budget cuts.
EDF announced on Tuesday that it would also be striking at its hydropower plants. Separately the strike could also affect Dunkerque LNG Terminal, operated by Fluxys.
State news agencies reported that Gazprom, the Russian gas company, has agreed to increase modestly its gas supply to China through an existing pipeline. It has also signed a memo on building a vast Power of Siberia 2 pipe at lower prices than European buyers.
Analysts at Engie EnergyScan said that this could be good news on the one hand for the global LNG equilibrium because it would help to reduce China's demand pressure for LNG.
The geopolitical message is not reassuring, they said. "On the contrary, it happened a few weeks after the deloading of an Arctic LNG 2 cargo sanctioned in China."
The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was up by 0.20 euros at 74.17 euro per metric ton. Nina Chestney reports.
(source: Reuters)
