2023-02-01 12:05:00
EUROPEAN GAS PRICES UPDOWN AGAIN
BLOOMBERG - Feb 1, 2023 - European natural gas futures fluctuated as traders weighed colder weather approaching next week against ample supplies.
Benchmark futures advanced as much as 6% on Wednesday before erasing gains. Temperatures will drop below normal from Rome to Berlin and Stockholm next week, according to forecaster Maxar, though are generally expected to be milder than usual for the rest of the month.
“The relatively mild weather this winter in most of Europe has been fortuitous, with gas consumption down on seasonal averages and gas storage stocks remaining robust,” Deepa Venkateswaran, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein & Co LLC, said in a note.
The cold spell next week signals the possibility of heavier withdrawals from the region’s gas storage sites, though inventories are still almost 73% full and well above average levels of the last five years. How low they get by the end of the winter will determine the severity of the energy crunch next summer and the following heating season.
Steady supplies have helped to keep gas prices relatively low in recent weeks. Russian gas transit via Ukraine edged up from Tuesday, and liquefied natural gas flows remain higher than usual for the time of the year.
Continued LNG supply is key for Europe, which can no longer rely on Russia for pipeline gas following the nation’s invasion of Ukraine. Traders are also watching progress on restarting the Freeport LNG plant in the US.
Rehden, a major gas storage in Germany, halted operations on Tuesday for three days after a deflagration at a flare. But there’s been no impact on the security of supply, according to its operator.
Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s gas benchmark, were down 2.5% at €55.90 a megawatt-hour at 9:34 a.m. in Amsterdam. The UK equivalent was down 1.4%.
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Earlier:
2023, January, 30, 11:40:00
EUROPEAN GAS PRICES DECLINE ANEW
Benchmark futures fell as much as 3.5%. While the continent’s gas inventories dropped last week amid a cold spell, they are still far above historic averages.
2023, January, 20, 11:40:00
EUROPEAN GAS PRICES DECLINE
Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s gas benchmark, were 2.8% lower at €59 a megawatt-hour by 8:29 a.m. in Amsterdam.
2023, January, 18, 12:15:00
EUROPEAN GAS PRICES REDUCTION
The region’s storage sites are around 81% full, some 20 percentage points above the five-year average. That’s providing confidence that Europe will end the winter with inventories over 50% and “more than enough gas to completely replenish its storage by the start of next winter,”
2023, January, 16, 12:35:00
EUROPE NEED U.S. LNG
According to the EU-US announcement, EU commission aims to increase annual demand for American LNG by 50BCM by the end of 2030 and procure 15BCM more in 2022,
2023, January, 11, 11:35:00
EUROPEAN LNG WINNING
LNG deliveries to Europe have helped ease an energy crisis this winter after Russian piped supply slumped.
2023, January, 5, 16:25:00
EUROPEAN GAS PRICES UPDOWN YET
Dutch front-month futures, the European gas benchmark traded 2% higher at to €66.30 per megawatt-hour by 12 p.m. in Amsterdam. The UK equivalent contract also rose. German power for next month increased 2.3% to €166 per megawatt-hour.
2022, December, 21, 12:20:00
EUROPEAN GAS PRICE CAP
"The TTF month-ahead settlement price for derivatives is by far the most widely used benchmark in gas supply contracts across the EU, followed by maturities of two-month ahead and year ahead," it states.
