Dutch and British gas prices were little changed on Friday morning, continuing to trade in a tight range in the face of a scarcity of news with the potential to affect the market and no changes to the wider supply and demand balance.
The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub (TRNLTTFMc1) eased 0.08 euros to 32.45 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), or $11.11/mmBtu, by 0855 GMT, LSEG data showed.
The Dutch day-ahead contract (TRNLTTFD1) was up 0.30 euros at 31.78 euros/MWh.
The British day-ahead contract (TRGBNBPD1) was down 1.50 pence to 78.60 pence per therm.
“Price levels continue to hold at a level seen for many of the last sessions,” consultancy Auxilione said in a daily market report.
There was limited news that could drive prices, while the fundamentals of supply and demand also remain unchanged, it added.
“Next week, we expect western European gas balances to remain broadly unchanged, supporting a rangebound price outlook,” LSEG analyst Yuriy Onyshkiv said in a weekly report.
Dutch day-ahead prices are likely to continue trading within a narrow 31 to 32 euros/MWh corridor, while their British equivalent is expected to hover around the 80p/therm mark, the analyst said.
The BBL pipeline connecting Britain with the Netherlands is offline for maintenance between September 8 and 11, limiting UK exports to the continent.
“Next week, and likely also the entire week after next week, will be generally unsettled, partially windy, and cooler with frequent mostly shower-like rain,” LSEG meteorologist Georg Mueller said.
Precipitation will be near or above normal, while temperatures will be near or below normal, he added.
Meanwhile, a strike at the French Dunkirk LNG terminal, which started late on Monday and has had minimal impact on operations, has ended, Belgian operator Fluxys said.
EU gas storage sites were last 78.5% full, compared with around 92.5% at the same time last year, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract (CFI2Zc1) was up 0.60 euro at 76.04 euros a metric ton.
Source: Reuters