26th April 2017 | Posted by: Daniel Birkett | Market Analysis

Gas Power
Market Close Market Close
Gas prices displayed further losses on Tuesday with the help of a milder weather forecast for next week, weakening oil and an improved supply outlook. Day-Ahead was the only contract to move higher as below average temperatures were expected across Europe today. In other news, coal continued to decrease as China revealed efforts to take prices to a ‘reasonable’ level ahead of high summer demand. Falling fuel markets weighed on power contracts yesterday, while wind generation was strong, resulting in a drop in other, more expensive generation methods. The Day-Ahead contract moved in the opposite direction to the rest of the curve and was dictated by a cold weather forecast for today and a drop in wind levels.
Market Open Market Open
Gas prices remain bearish this morning despite a significant jump in demand, instead contracts took direction from improving supply levels as Langeled flows have increased and LNG send-outs at the Gate terminal are high. Demand levels are expected to rise to 60mcm above the seasonal norm tomorrow but will fall as we move towards the weekend. Meanwhile, further downward movement is expected on coal and oil markets which should transfer to far-curve gas contracts. Power contracts continue to be pressured down by their gas counterparts and losses can be observed across the curve, with coal and oil markets also displaying a bearish trend. However, an outage at the Hartlepool nuclear power plant has been extended until next week, limiting some of the downward movement.

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

Brent Summary

Brent 1st-nearby prices recorded a small gain yesterday, the first positive session for nearly a week, however, prices remain below $51.9/b; Bullish pressure was provided by the release of the latest API (The American Petroleum Institute) figures.

1-year forward prices

Market close data has revealed that the 1-year forward price for both commercial gas & commercial electricity decreased – closing at 42.58ppt and £41.94/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 - 26-04-2017

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