Pricewatch | 06 Feb 2023 | Gas Matters Today

European natural gas prices saw modest increases on Friday despite large swings in temperatures across the continent, as large storage stocks continued to cushion the market.

NBP increased 1.2% to USD 17.86/MMBtu, while TTF saw a smaller 0.5% rise to USD18.37/MMbtu.

The weather has decreased below zero in some places in Europe, but the continued high gas stock levels continue limiting any sort of drastic increase. According to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), European gas stocks were 70.4% full as of 4 February, with the largest withdrawals seen in France and Denmark over the weekend.

In the US, the situation was similar to that in Europe regarding stocks, but the weather forecast was mild for the next two weeks. Therefore, Henry Hub saw a 2% fall to USD 2.41/MMBtu.

Meanwhile, crude suffered losses on Friday, after strong US jobs data raised concerns about higher interest rates and as investors sought more clarity on the imminent EU embargo on Russian refined products, Reuters reported.

Brent fell 2.7% to USD 79.94/barrel, and WTI dropped 3.3% to USD 73.39/barrel.

Front-month futures and indexes at last close with day-on-day changes (click to enlarge): Time references based on London GMT. Brent, WTI, NBP, TTF and EU CO2 data from ICE. Henry Hub, JKM and API2 data from CME. Prices in USD/MMBtu based on exchange rates at last market close. All monetary values rounded to nearest whole cent/penny. Text and graphic copyright © Gas Strategies, all rights.