Dutch and British gas prices were mixed on Thursday morning but largely traded sideways amid few changes to the supply and demand picture with the market underpinned by geopolitical risks and the oncoming winter season.

The Dutch November gas contract edged up 0.08 euros to 50.98 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0837 GMT, according to LSEG data. The December contract was up by 0.20 euros at 53.30 euros/MWh.

The British November contract traded up by 1.00 pence at 127.00 pence per therm.

European gas prices were largely steady as traders are looking for signs of colder weather in the coming weeks, Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ bank said in a morning note.

“Despite strong storage levels, the market remains vulnerable to supply disruptions as it heads towards the heating season,” he added.

European gas storages continued to fill albeit at much slower rates and were last seen 98.69% full, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed.

However, the market is still wary supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) may be disrupted if the Israel-Hamas war spreads across the wider Middle East region.

Further in, the Dutch day-ahead contract was down 0.50 euro at 48.80 euros per megawatt hour (MWh).

In Britain the day-ahead contract fell by 0.35 pence to 120.90 p/therm, with the within-day contract down 0.50 pence at 122.00 p/therm.

LSEG forecasts showed a drop in gas for power demand in Britain of 16 million cubic metres (mcm) for Friday amid rising wind power output, while gas supply from Norway through the Langeled pipeline was up by 16 mcm/day on Thursday morning.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract edged down by 0.21 euros to 79.71 euros a tonne.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nora Buli in Oslo; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)