EUROPE GAS-Prices stable as end to French strike lifts LNG supply
XLE•German incentives and carbon prices
German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche plans to use market incentives to encourage traders to keep more gas available this winter, while avoiding direct state gas purchases, amid concerns over supply, a government source told Reuters.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract fell by €0.92 to €84.96 a metric ton.
Gas prices steady as LNG supply recovers
Dutch and British gas prices were little changed on Wednesday morning, with continued disruptions in the Middle East supporting prices and supply boosted by an end to a strike in France.
The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub was down €0.22 at €79.84 per megawatt hour (MWh), or around $27/mmBtu, by 0818 GMT, ICE data showed.
The British front-month contract edged down 0.60 pence at 197.81 pence per therm.
Geopolitical disruption keeps the market tight
“Geopolitical tensions continue to support the wider complex…. With Hormuz effectively blocked and Qatari LNG exports restricted under force majeure, global supplies remain tight,” Germany energy group SEFE said in a daily market report.
Visible vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz remained in the single digits on Tuesday as the war in the Middle East continues to disrupt energy flows through the waterway.
Liquefied natural gas send-out in Northwest Europe rebounded to 1,860 gigawatt hours/day from 1,303 GWh/d on Tuesday following the end of a strike in France that had curbed supply from the Dunkirk LNG terminal, LSEG data showed.
Europe’s gas stores are 68.49% full, latest data from gas Infrastructure Europe showed. Analysts at Northern Gas and Power said stores could be 70% full by next week.
