12th February 2018 | Posted by: Daniel Birkett | Market Analysis

Gas Power
Market Close Market Close
Cold weather and an outage at the Forties pipeline meant the system was slightly short on Friday, offering support to prices at the front of the curve. An improved weather outlook for this week helped to provide some bearish resistance, while contracts on the far-curve stabilised due to weakening oil prices. The system has opened 7mcm long as demand levels have decreased from Friday and supply via the Forties pipeline is back to normal following an issue last week. As a result, near-curve gas prices have moved down slightly as comfortable demand levels are expected this week. Further out, Brent has recovered from its weekend losses, limiting downward movement at the back of the curve.
Market Open Market Open
Today’s wind levels were expected to be little changed from Friday, while temperatures were forecast to be around the seasonal norm. This helped to limit bullish movement at the front of the curve, although cold temperatures over the weekend helped to lift most contracts. On the far-curve, weaker coal and oil markets ensured movement was minimal. Power prices display mixed movement this morning with an expected drop in solar generation tomorrow helping the prompt add to its price. However, milder temperatures have reduced heating demand, capping upward movement on the rest of the near curve. Meanwhile, oil prices have moved higher, resulting in some minor gains at the back of the curve.

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

Brent Summary

Brent dropped below $62/b over the weekend but has rebounded to around $63.8/b this morning with a series of key economic data announcements expected this week.

1-year forward prices

Market close data has revealed that the 1-year forward price for both commercial gas & commercial electricity increased – closing at 45.50ppt and £45.39/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 - 12-02-2018

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