Dutch and British wholesale gas prices were mixed on Tuesday morning due to higher wind output and lower Norwegian supplies.
The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub (TRNLTTFMc1) was up 0.59 euros at 32.25 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0831 GMT, LSEG data showed.
The day-ahead contract inched down by 0.05 euro to 31.75 euros/MWh.
The British front-month gas price (TRGBNBPMc1) was 0.35 pence higher at 79.55 pence per therm, while the day-ahead contract was down 0.25 pence at 79.00 pence per therm.
Demand for gas from power plants is forecast to drop by 266 gigawatt hours per day from 1,577 GWh from tomorrow, which could offset a decline in Norwegian flows to Belgium due to terminal maintenance, said LSEG gas analyst Yuriy Onyshkiv.
Wind output is forecast to increase tomorrow and Thursday. Higher wind generation typically reduces demand for gas from power plants.
Norwegian to continental Europe have declined to 186 million cubic metres (mcm) due to a full shutdown at the Zeepipe exit terminal which has removed 42 mcm of flows and an 11 mcm decline at Germany’s Emden terminal.
The reduced volumes were re-directed to the UK.
Workers at France’s EDF are on strike from late on Monday for three days, adding to a series of strikes expected in September in protest against proposed budget cuts by the government.
On Tuesday, EDF also announced strike action at hydropower facilities. Separately, the strikes could also affect the Dunkerque LNG terminal, operated by Fluxys.
Russia’s Gazprom has agreed to a modest rise in gas supplies to China via an existing pipeline and has signed a memorandum on building the vast Power of Siberia 2 pipeline but at prices lower than those charged to European buyers, state news agencies reported.
“On the one hand, this is good news for the global LNG balance because it could help reduce China’s pressure on LNG spot demand,” said analysts at Engie EnergyScan.
“On the other hand, happening a few days after the unloading in China of a sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 cargo, the geopolitical message sent is not really reassuring,” they added.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract (CFI2Zc1) was up 0.20 euro at 74.17 euros a metric ton.
Source: Reuters