Pricewatch | 06 Sep 2022 | Gas Matters Today

European gas prices surged on Monday after Gazprom backtracked from restarting Nord Stream 1 (NS1) gas flows after it discovered an oil leak on the last functioning turbine at Portovaya compressor station.

After an easing in prices on Friday pinned on the hopes of the restart of Russian flows through key pipeline, the UK gas benchmark NBP and Dutch TTF have restarted their ascent on Monday.

TTF settled 13.4% higher compared with Friday at the equivalent of USD 71.58/MMBtu on Monday, while NBP closed at USD 53.29/MMBtu, up 12.4%.

After hitting its all-time high two weeks ago, the European carbon price saw a second-consecutive decrease on Monday, with the price hitting EUR 74.05/tonne, down 4.4%. The decrease can largely be attributed to the reports of the EU mulling a release of additional greenhouse gas emission allowances from the Emissions Trading System if the price rises above a certain threshold.

CME’s API2 coal, JKM and Henry Hub front-month contracts remained unchanged on Monday due to the Labour Day public holiday in the US.

As for crude, both Brent and WTI saw a 3% uptick on Monday, boosted by OPEC+ agreeing to a small production cut of 100,000 barrels/day – 0.1% of global demand – to push up prices.

Brent crude futures for November delivery settled USD 2.72 higher at USD 95.74/ barrel, while WTI closed at USD 89.24/barrel

However, reports suggest that WTI had climbed by almost USD 4 earlier in the session, but have then been tamed by reassurances from the White House that US President Joe Biden remains committed to strengthening energy supplies and lowering prices.

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.