British and Dutch gas prices were mixed on Tuesday morning as lower temperatures and reduced imports from Norway and Russia lent some support, while stable inventories put pressures on prompt prices.
The front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub TRNLTTFMc1 rose by 1.35 euros to 49.90 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0821 GMT, Refinitiv Eikon data showed, while Dutch day-ahead contract TRNLTTFD1 fell by 1.75 euros to 50.15 MWh, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.
The British day-ahead price TRGBNBPD1 fell by 2.00 pence to 125.00 pence per therm.
Wayne Bryan, head of gas research at Refinitiv, said among bullish factors were below normal wind speeds and uncertainties around French nuclear output due to workers strikes.
The French energy sector has been caught up in nationwide protests over government plans to raise retirement age leading to output cuts at some nuclear plants and disruption at imports terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“The outlook is moderately bearish, however. The risk on the day-ahead contract remains strong with strike uncertainty… If French strike action is confirmed to end today it would send a bearish signal,” Bryan said.
Analysts at Engie’s EnergyScan said the price decrease this morning “should be moderate because cold weather and weak renewable generation should support gas demand this week.”
Meanwhile, Norwegian gas nominations to Britain fell from 92 million cubic metres (mcm) per day on Monday to 83 mcm per day on Tuesday.
Eastward gas flows on the Yamal-Europe pipeline to Poland from Germany also fell to zero again on Tuesday after a brief resumption, data from operator Gascade showed.
Europe’s gas stocks were 55.7% full, the latest data from Gas infrastructure Europe showed.
“Gas storage drawdowns have continued to stall, with EU gas storage flat week-on-week. EU gas storage levels remain significantly above the 5-year average of 34% for this 7-day period,” said analysts at Jefferies.
British peak wind generation was expected at around 7 gigawatts (GW) on Tuesday and Wednesday, out of a total metered capacity of more than 22 GW, Elexon data showed.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 edged up by 0.89 euro to 96.64 euros/tonne.
Emissions regulated under the European Union’s carbon market from power and industrial sectors fell by 1.2-1.6% last year, preliminary data in the European Union Transaction Log database examined by analysts showed on Monday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by Nina Chestney)