1st August 2016 | Posted by: Daniel Birkett | Market Analysis

Gas Power
Market Close Market Close
Gas contracts decreased on Friday with improved supply levels helping to weigh on the near-curve and weak oil contributing to bearish movement further out. Norwegian imports into the UK increased as a couple of outages were resolved and this resulted in a long UK gas system. Power contracts displayed mixed movement at the end of Friday's session with rising APi2 coal pushing contracts on the far-curve higher, while near-curve contracts were influenced by a falling gas market. The Pound also strengthened against the Euro which helped some contracts to fall, while a healthy wind generation forecast weighed on the prompt.
Market Open   Market Open
Norwegian supply and LNG send-outs are both lower this morning which has offered support to prompt gas contracts, with scheduled maintenance at UK facilities also a factor. The upward movement was slightly restricted by a decrease in exports to Belgium, while stable Brent has failed to provide much direction on the far-curve. Wind generation is expected to peak at around 7GW this week which is a significant improvement compared to last week's levels. Meanwhile, temperatures are expected to remain around the seasonal norm and contracts are largely dictated by increases on the gas and coal markets this morning.

Brent Summary

Brent 1st-nearby prices trade at around $43/b this morning and are rather stable at present following a drop in the US Dollar, offsetting the effects of a high rig count. The rebound this morning was due to the start of the new October benchmark contract.

1-year forward prices

Market close data has revealed that the 1-year forward price for both commercial gas displayed a slight decrease, while commercial electricity moved higher - closing at 41.68ppt and £43.27/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 - 01-08-2016