Prices of gas in Europe are on the rise as temperatures increase.
The Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas were not much different on Friday morning, as the warmer temperatures reduced demand while supply from Norway increased.
LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract was 36.08 euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), or $11.99/mmBtu at 0800 GMT. This is a decrease of 0.27 Euro.
The Dutch July contract increased by 0.10 euros to 36.45 Euro/MWh.
The British day-ahead contracts was up 0.20 cents at 86.00 pence/therm.
Analysts from LSEG say that the local distribution zone demand for heating is expected to fall by 492 gigawatt-hours/day (GWh/d), for North-West Europe, due to warmer temperatures.
In a daily note, LSEG analyst Oleh Skrynyk stated that "Total Norwegian Exports rose by 58 Million Cubic Meters/Day, easing the supply concerns and removing bullish risk premiums priced earlier in week."
Skrynyk stated that "we expect prices to trade in a sideways fashion, as the fundamentals of a bearish supply are already priced in."
Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed that the need to refill Europe's gas storage tanks, which are currently at 45% capacity, is still driving up prices.
Analysts at Energy Aspects stated that they are "still bullish" on TTF prices for 2025, given the difficulties Europe faces in filling up its storage by the end of October. However, this view depends on China returning to growth in imports in H2 25.
The market also watches for any news about a possible ceasefire or the resumption in some Russian gas flow to Europe.
Analysts at Energy Aspects said: "We continue to believe that Russian gas will not return to Europe via pipeline, and this is predicated anyway on a Russia/Ukraine peace agreement which is still some time away."
The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was up by 0.40 euros at 72.17 euro per metric ton. (Reporting by Susanna Twidale, editing by Nina Chestney).
(source: Reuters)
