19th May 2017 | Posted by: Daniel Birkett | Market Analysis

Gas Power
Market Close Market Close
Gas prices followed the movement of Brent yesterday and recorded gains in the afternoon. The system remained undersupplied throughout the session despite an increase in Norwegian flows, adding to the bullish pressure. Elsewhere, the release of positive economic data in the UK helped the Pound strengthen against the Euro but this did little to limit the gains. Changes on the power curve varied on Thursday with a higher renewable generation forecast weighing on prompt contracts and rising oil and coal supporting prices on the far-curve. Temperatures are also set to turn milder over the weekend, providing another bearish factor at the front of the curve.
Market Open Market Open
Gas contracts have moved down this morning as demand levels are set to decrease, Norwegian flows are expected to rise further and the LNG outlook is improved. Oil and coal markets are relatively stable and traders await news regarding production cuts at the Groningen facility in Holland. An expected rise in temperatures next week has helped near-curve power contracts open at a discount this morning. Solar and wind generation is also expected to rise significantly after the weekend and little support has been provided by fuel markets, resulting in a stable-to-bearish outlook.

For a breakdown of the current generation mix visit our Power Generation Insights page.

Brent Summary

Brent 1st-nearby prices rebounded strongly towards the end of yesterday’s session and trade close to $53/b this morning. The market remains volatile with a 9-month extension to oil cuts continuing to counter higher US production.

1-year forward prices

Market close data has revealed that the 1-year forward price for both commercial gas & commercial electricity recorded a small loss – closing at 42.74ppt and £42.24/MWh, respectively.

Today’s prices can also be found in an easy to read table on our ‘current UK energy price' page.

Click graph to enlarge

energy price graph - 19-05-2017

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