Dutch and British wholesale gas prices were rangebound on Friday morning amid a lack of fundamental news and sufficient supply.
The benchmark Dutch front-month contract (TRNLTTFMc1) eased by 0.20 euro to 33.45 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0859 GMT, while the June contract was up 0.30 euro at 33.63 euros/MWh, according to LSEG data.
The British front-month contract was down 0.76 pence at 80.84 pence per therm, while the day-ahead contract (TRGBNBPD1) was down 0.81 pence at 81.00 p/therm.
“We expect another day of sideways trading today in lack of any major fundamental movers or news,” LSEG analyst Saku Jussila said in a morning report.
Meanwhile, Britain could increase exports to continental Europe amid a looser balance in the British system, widening its price discount to Europe, he added.
Dry and sunny weather will dominate with temperatures rising to above normal values in continental Europe and Britain until around May 5, LSEG meteorologist Georg Mueller said.
On the supply side, Norwegian pipeline exports to Europe are down on Friday morning, while capacity at the Kaarstoe processing plant will be curtailed further over the weekend due to annual maintenance.
“The European market is likely catching some support from increased Asian spot LNG buying at current prices, with spot LNG now in the money against other fuels,” analysts at Energy Aspects said in a weekly note.
The two markets compete for liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes in the global market.
The U.S.-led tariff war has also increased uncertainty over global gas demand, although the market has likely overestimated the potential downside, Energy Aspects added.
Meanwhile, a European Parliament committee on Thursday voted in favour of plans that would lower targets on filling gas storage, after EU governments earlier in April also backed softening current rules. A swift agreement could see the new targets applied this year already.
Europe’s gas storage sites have started filling after the winter season but at 37.7% full remain some 24 percentage points below the same period last year, data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) shows.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract (CFI2Zc1) lifted by 0.20 euro to 66.51 euros per metric ton.
Source: Reuters