Pricewatch | 15 Aug 2022 | Gas Matters Today

European natural gas prices closed out last week in the red, with prices dipping amid an improving outlook for gas storage levels in Europe.

TTF and NBP fell by 1.7% and 2.2% respectively on Friday, with the former settling at the equivalent of USD 61.97/MMBtu. The UK marker closed at USD 48.03/MMBtu.

The fall was pinned on an improving gas storage picture, with Europe’s inventories just over 74% full as of 13 August, according to GIE data. There are 46 days until the start of the winter heating season on 1 October, and 77 days until 1 November – the date the EU has set to have storage sites 80% full. 

US gas benchmark Henry Hub also dipped, closing 1.2% lower at USD 8.77/MMBtu.

As for JKM, the Asian LNG marker continued to climb, closing 0.1% higher at USD 45.39/MMBtu. The result saw the TTF-JKM spread narrow to USD 16.58/MMBtu.

Crude prices failed to sustain momentum from Thursday, closing out the week in the red. Brent was down 1.5% and WTI dipped 2.4%. The fall was pinned on lingering recession fears.

The European carbon price settled at its highest level since 30 June, closing 1.5% higher on Friday at EUR 88.5/tonne. The EUA price has been supported by robust thermal power demand amid soaring heat across Europe.  

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.