Spot power prices were generally bearish throughout yesterday's session but have displayed gains this morning with stronger gas the main supportive factor. A stronger wind and nuclear generation picture was largely ignored, with a drop in temperatures expected at the start of next week. European gas prices continued to fall yesterday as LNG supply remained high and demand levels were comfortable, however, upward movement is visible this morning as LNG flows have decreased slightly. Today's prices can also be found in an easy to read table on our 'current UK energy price' page.
How did the energy markets close?
Day-Ahead gas and the rest of the near curve moved down for the fourth consecutive session yesterday due to strong LNG send-outs and reduced demand for gas-fired generation. Send-outs via South Hook remained high but are gradually decreasing session by session and stood at 57mcm yesterday. A rise in wind generation and a weaker demand forecast helped Day-Ahead power shed from its price on Thursday. The return of the Dungeness B nuclear plant also provided bearish pressure with the 580MW unit 2 Heysham 1 plant also expected to come back online today.
How did the energy markets open?
Gas prices have slightly increased this morning as LNG supply has decreased and exports to Europe are higher; the gas system is less comfortable as a result. Weaker coal and oil prices have restricted some upward movement on the far-curve but the overall trend is bullish. Power prices have also displayed gains, following their gas counterparts with extra support coming from an expected drop in wind generation and another outage at a nuclear power plant. As with gas, the price increases are less prominent on the far-curve due to weaker fuel costs.
1-year forward prices
Market close data has revealed that the 1-year forward price for both commercial gas & commercial electricity increased - closing at 41.83ppt and £42.25/MWh, respectively. This can be seen in the graph below.
Note: Brent Crude prices are taken from opening market data, and do not represent the price as it changes throughout the day.
Latest Brent Crude Price
Brent 1st-nearby prices continue to fall and traded at around $46.2/b this morning with weaker global stock markets, on the back of oversupply the main market driver yesterday.