3rd August 2016 | Posted by: Daniel Birkett | Market Analysis

Gas Power
Market Close Market Close
Gas prices continued to move down during Tuesday's session despite weaker imports from Norway and the start of maintenance at the Britannia gas field. Elsewhere, a rise in Russian gas flows via Ukraine helped to weigh on European prices which also applied downward pressure on some corresponding UK contracts. Meanwhile, Brent recorded another loss which resulted in further downward movement on the far-curve. Healthy fundamentals helped to weigh on contracts across the power curve yesterday with a drop in coal and oil prices the main contributing factors. A sharp rise in wind generation was also forecast for today, applying strong downward pressure on the prompt which filtered through to the rest of the near-curve.
Market Open Market Open
The supply outlook in the UK remains rather weak this morning as Norwegian imports are reduced, resulting in a short UK gas system and bullish movement on the near-curve. Further out, the general sentiment is bearish as oil prices continue to weaken on the back of healthy rig counts and low demand. The power curve displays numerous losses this morning with healthy renewable generation, low demand and falling fuel prices helping contracts open at a discount. Wind generation has ramped up to around 4.3GW today, more than doubling yesterday's levels, while cooler temperatures have reduced consumption levels.

Brent Summary

Brent 1st-nearby prices decreased yesterday and briefly hit a three and half month low of $41.51/b before rebounding back to around $42/b. The release of this week's EIA inventory report is set to be the main market driver today which is expected to show a drop in crude oil stocks.

1-year forward prices

Market close data has revealed that the 1-year forward price for both commercial gas & commercial electricity decreased - closing at 40.23ppt and £42.34/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 - 03-08-2016