EUROPE GAS-Prices take a breather amid profit-taking after recent rally
XLE•Gas prices ease after recent rally
OSLO, July 24 (Reuters) - Benchmark Dutch and British wholesale gas prices traded lower on Friday morning amid profit-taking following this month's rally, but developments in the Middle East war and their impact on energy shipments remain the key driver.
The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub TFMBMc1 was down by €0.46 at €61.44 per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0737 GMT, ICE data showed.
The British front-month contract NGLNMc1 eased by 0.97 pence to 148.48 pence per therm.
Storage and other European energy data
EU gas storage sites were last 54.6% full, compared with 65.7% at the same time last year, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed.
Total Norwegian exports were up marginally from Thursday at around 321 million cubic metres (mcm) per day.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 was up €0.29 at €84.17 per metric ton.
Geopolitics and LNG supply remain the main focus
Despite the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East on the back of attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthis, which sent oil prices soaring to about $100 per barrel, European gas prices eased by 1% on Thursday.
"Technical indicators suggest it had moved into overbought territory, resulting in some selling into the close," said Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ in a note.
Analysts at Engie EnergyScan said the fall was merely a technical correction driven by profit-taking, not a trend reversal.
Disruptions to exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) could persist as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, as indicated by QatarEnergy's extension of force majeure on LNG supplies to several Asian buyers, they added.
