Dutch wholesale gas prices eased on Wednesday amid solid inventories and the restart of nuclear reactors in France following a heat wave, but market players were closely monitoring possible strikes at Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities.
The benchmark Dutch September contract TRNLTTFMc1 was 1.90 euro lower at 41.10 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0930 GMT.
The October contract TRNLTTFMc2 fell by 1.35 euro to 45.60 euros/MWh, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.
“All eyes are on the Woodside meeting now and if there’s any solution that can come out of it, expect volatility today again due to that,” a European gas trader said.
Woodside Energy WDS.AX and unions will meet for a key round of talks on Wednesday in a bid to avoid strikes at Australia’s largest LNG facility as disputes over wages and conditions remained unresolved.
Unions have threatened to strike as early as Sept. 2 if their terms over wages and work conditions are not met. Any disruptions to work could slow the exports of the super-chilled fuel from Australia, the world’s biggest LNG exporter, which could force Asian buyers to outbid European buyers to attract cargoes as they build up inventories for winter.
LNG stockpiles held by Japanese electric utilities have hit more than one-year lows as a scorching summer drives up usage of air-conditioners and typhoons delay cargoes, data released by Japan’s industry ministry showed on Wednesday.
Separately, unions are also voting on potential strikes at Chevron’s Australian LNG facilities, with ballots open until Thursday.
Refinitiv analyst Timothy Crump said multiple restarts of reactors in France following a heatwave that is expected to end on Friday will add some bearish sentiment.
European gas storages are 91.3% full, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data.
In Britain, the day-ahead price TRGBNBPD1 fell by 4.80 pence to 103.00 pence per therm, while the within-day price TRGBNBPWKD dropped 3.00 pence to 104.50 p/therm.
A heatwave across the country is expected to end on Friday, and winds are forecast to ease on day ahead before picking up throughout the rest of the week and into the weekend, leading to lower gas-for-power demand.
Gas-for-power demand is forecast to fall by 6 million cubic metres (mcm) for weekend and by 12 mcm for the working days next week, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 fell by 0.33 euro to 89.54 euros a tonne.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Kim Coghill)