14th December 2015 | Posted by: Daniel Birkett | Market Analysis

Gas Power
Market Close Market Close
Gas prices decreased on Friday on the back of a mild weather forecast for the rest of December, with further bearish pressure coming from falling oil prices. The UK gas system was short due to a number of outages in Norway but this did little to curb the losses. Day-Ahead power was the exception on Friday as the rest of the power curve displayed losses. The prompt moved higher due to a slight drop in temperatures over the weekend and a weaker wind generation forecast. Further out, a decline in oil and coal contracts provided additional downward pressure.
Market Open Market Open
Norwegian imports into the UK are back to normal this morning but the system remains short following an increase in gas-fired power generation to make up for a drop in wind output. However, the outlook remains bearish as temperatures are expected to increase to well above the seasonal norm this week. Wind generation is expected to rise from 2GW to 4.5GW tomorrow which has helped the prompt record a sizeable loss as the UK's reliance on expensive gas-fired generation will be reduced. Elsewhere, most contracts have followed their weaker gas counterparts and oil prices continue to plummet.

Brent Summary

Brent 1st-nearby prices are at their lowest ebb for eight years and are close to hitting the record lows seen in 2008 following a worrying IEA report, showing an unstable oil market.

1-year forward prices

Market close data has revealed that the 1-year forward price for both commercial gas & commercial electricity decreased - closing at 35.04ppt and £38.03/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 - 14-12-2015