Dutch and British wholesale contracts reversed initially lower prices on Tuesday driven by the ongoing risk of strikes at Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities as well as gains in power prices amid hot weather.

The Dutch September contract was 3.50 euros higher at 43.50 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 1304 GMT, having traded as low as 39.20 euro/MWh earlier in the day.

The October contract gained 3.57 euros to 48.57 euros/MWh, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

Outages at Britain’s Bacton terminal combined with French nuclear outages and higher power prices amid a heatwave, had seen gas prices rebasing above 40 euros, a trader said.

French nuclear availability fell four percentage points to 56% of total capacity, with some reactors affected by cooling issues.

Earlier on Tuesday, a trader highlighted the ongoing volatility around potential LNG strikes in Australia ahead of key votes and meetings.

Strike action at Woodside Energy Group’s North West Shelf offshore gas platforms could start from Sept. 2, pending the outcome of fresh talks scheduled for Wednesday.

Separately, unions are also voting on potential strikes at Chevron’s Australian LNG facilities, with ballots open until Thursday.

Meanwhile, European gas storages were last seen 91.3% full, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data.

LNG supplies would need to slow down to avoid tanks topping out much earlier than normal, the second trader said.

Arrivals of LNG tankers have already slowed in north-west Europe and there are no new LNG tankers scheduled to arrive in Britain this month.

The British day-ahead price rose 10.00 pence to 107.50 pence per therm, while the within-day price gained 7.00 pence to 105.00 p/therm.

Gas-for-power demand is forecast to rise by 8 million cubic metres (mcm) for the day-ahead, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract rose by 2.16 euro to 90.04 euros a metric ton.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nora Buli in Oslo, additional reporting by Marwa Rashad in London; Editing by Varun H K and Jonathan Oatis)