Dutch and British gas prices were down a touch on Wednesday morning as healthy supply and a milder outlook offset the impact of a current cold spell and low wind speeds, but the market remained wary of stagnant storages and any risks to supply.

The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub (TRNLTTFMc1) was down 0.27 euro at 31.50 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), or $10.74/mmBtu, by 0847 GMT, LSEG data showed.

The Dutch day-ahead contract (TRNLTTFD1) was down 0.34 euro at 31.74 euros/MWh.

“A warmer revision in the latest EC46 Day run for early November, coupled with increasing French nuclear availability, adds bearish pressure to the market,” said LSEG analyst Yuriy Onyshkiv.

The British front-month gas price (TRGBNBPMc1) fell 1.11 pence to 80.39 pence per therm, while the day-ahead contract (TRGBNBPD1) was down 0.75 pence at 79.75 p/therm.

Global gas prices have steadies this week as seaborne imports eased concern over short-term supplies, Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ said in a note.

“Nevertheless, the overall balance remains fragile. Any prolonged period of disruptions to global flows could send prices higher,” he said.

EU gas storage sites were 83.1% full as of October 13, a touch lower day on day and some 12 percentage points below levels seen at the same time last year, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed.

The storage stagnation, particularly in Germany, where levels are down 20 percentage points year on year, is a concern, said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst at Global Risk Management.

“Usually, storage levels rise at this time of year,” he added.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract (CFI2Zc1) was up 0.15 euro at 77.07 euros a metric ton.
Source: Reuters