Dutch and British wholesale gas prices were down on Tuesday morning amid profit taking and after a media report that Israel is willing not to strike Iranian oil targets, which eased fears of a supply disruption.
The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub TRNLTTFMc1 fell by 1.00 euro to 39.40 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), or $12.91/mmbtu, by 0849 GMT, LSEG data showed.
In the British market, the front-month TRGBNBPMc1 contract was down by 3.00 pence to 98.00 pence per therm.
The British day-ahead contract TRGBNBPD1 was 2.6 pence down at 95.00 p/therm.
“Prices are weakening this morning, probably under pressure from the additional sharp drop in oil prices which incites some financial participants to take their profits,” analysts at Engie’s EnergyScan said in a morning note.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that his country will listen to the United States but will decide its actions according to its own national interest.
The statement was attached to a Washington Post article which said Netanyahu had told President Joe Biden’s administration that Israel would strike Iranian military, not nuclear or oil, targets.
It came amid expectations that Israel will strike in retaliation for Iran’s missile attack on Israel on Oct 1. That attack followed a rapidly spiralling conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
On the supply side, total Norwegian exports are up 11 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d), as the impact of maintenance outages ease out at the Kristin, Troll and Oseberg production fields. Flows towards the Continent are up by 7 mcm/d, LSEG analyst Saku Jussila said.
Demand is still decreasing due to forecasts for milder weather. North-west Europe’s total demand is down 500 gigawatt hour per day (GWh/d) on the day-ahead, which should add some bearish sentiment, Jussila added.
However, consultancy Auxilione said the market remains extremely nervous, despite holding a strong fundamental outlook for the days and weeks ahead, continuing to show the influence events have around the world.
In the European carbon market CFI2Zc1, the benchmark contract fell by 1.2 euro to 64.77 euros a metric ton.
Source: Reuters (Reporting By Marwa Rashad; Editing by Nina Chestney)