12th December 2016 | Posted by: Daniel Birkett | Market Analysis

Gas Power
Market Close Market Close
On-going outages in Norway continued to limit imports into the UK on Friday and temperatures were also expected to turn colder later this week; resulting in upward movement on the near gas curve. However, withdrawals have resumed at the Rough storage facility following a six month outage, while the Pound strengthened against the Euro, limiting the gains further out. A mild weather forecast for the weekend helped to weigh on Day-Ahead power on Friday, ignoring a weaker wind generation forecast for this week. A rise in gas prices offered some support in the afternoon, although the effects were limited by a stronger Pound.
Market Open Market Open
Stronger Brent has offered support to the gas curve this morning, with a rise in coal prices also a contributing factor. Temperatures were revised higher for the coming days which restricted some of the upward movement. In terms of supply, the UK gas system is short despite an improvement in Norwegian flows as outages at Heimdal and Kollsnes have been resolved. Power contracts have increased this morning with the prompt adding over £4/MWh to its price. Rises on the gas market were the main market driver which were pushed higher by strengthening oil prices, another increase in APi2 coal was also a supportive factor.

Brent Summary

Brent 1st-nearby prices have posted strong gains this morning with Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC countries confirming their commitment to cutting production levels over the weekend; Brent currently trades just above $57/b.

1-year forward prices

Market close data has revealed that the 1-year forward price for both commercial gas & commercial electricity increased - closing at 43.88ppt and £44.35/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 - 12-12-2016

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