The price of gas in Europe is stuck in a sideways trend due to the lack of a new impetus.
The Dutch and British gas price were not much different on Friday morning. They continued to trade within a narrow range, despite the lack of any news that could affect the market. There was also no change in the overall supply and demand balance.
LSEG data shows that the benchmark Dutch front-month contract for the TTF hub fell 0.08 euros, or $11.11/mmBtu to 32.45 Euros per megawatt hour at 0855 GMT.
The Dutch day-ahead contracts was up by 0.30 euros to 31.78 Euros/MWh.
The British day-ahead contracts fell 1.50 pence, to 78.60 cents per therm.
In a daily report, Auxilione stated that "price levels have remained at the same level for several sessions."
It added that there was little news to drive prices and the fundamentals of demand and supply are also unchanged.
In a report published weekly, LSEG analyst Yuriy Onieshkiv stated that "we expect the western European gas balances will remain broadly unchanged next week, supporting a price rangebound outlook."
The analyst predicted that Dutch day-ahead energy prices will continue to trade within a tight 31 to 32 euro/MWh range, while the British equivalent should hover around 80p/therm.
Between September 8 and 11 the BBL pipeline that connects Britain to the Netherlands will be offline for maintenance, limiting UK exports into the continent.
Georg Mueller, LSEG's meteorologist, said that next week and the week following it will be mostly unsettled and partly windy with shower-like rain.
He added that temperatures would be close to or below normal and precipitation near or above average.
Fluxys, the Belgian operator, said that a strike which began late Monday night and had a minimal impact on operations has now ended.
Gas Infrastructure Europe's data shows that EU gas storage facilities were 78.5% filled last year compared to 92.5% last year.
The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets was up 0.60 euros at 76.04 euro per metric ton. (Reporting from Nora Buli, Paris; additional reporting by Forrest Crellin)
(source: Reuters)
