Dutch and British gas prices rose on Monday morning in line with equities markets after some tariff exemptions for Chinese goods supplying tech companies, while milder, windier weather should allow for more gas storage refilling.
The benchmark Dutch front-month contract (TRNLTTFMc1) was up by 0.40 euro at 34.00 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), or $11.43/mmBtu, by 0826 GMT, LSEG data showed.
The Dutch June contract (TRNLTTFMc2) was up 0.48 euro at 34.28 euros/MWh.
The British day-ahead contract (TRGBNBBD1) was up 1.50 pence at 84.00p/therm.
“As prices were driven by recession fears on Trump trade policy, further exemptions on tariffs, i.e. phones and laptops, during the weekend could spark some hopes for a lesser impact on the global economy,” LSEG analyst Ulrich Weber said in a morning note.
The White House had announced the exclusions from steep reciprocal tariffs on Friday, although by Sunday U.S. President Donald Trump indicated new tariffs on smartphones, computers and some other electronics could be announced soon.
Gas storages across Europe should also see injections continue strongly this week, especially during the first half, amid mild weather, while more wind will also limit demand from the power sector, Weber added.
Europe’s gas storage sites ended the winter season almost two-thirds empty and were last 35.1% full, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) data.
On Friday, European Union countries backed looser rules that would let countries deviate by 10 percentage points from the EU’s requirement to fill gas storage to 90% of capacity ahead of winter, if market conditions are unfavourable.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract (CFI2Zc1) was down 1.07 euros at 65.89 euros a metric ton.
Source: Reuters