21
Jun
2021

Pricewatch | 21 Jun 2021 | Gas Matters Today

Only Subscribers can read the full Article

European gas prices surged on Friday, with the rally continuing this week as the front-month Dutch TTF contract topped EUR 30/MWh for the first time since 2008 during trading on Monday morning.

The front-month TTF and NBP contracts settled ~3.5% higher on Friday, to settle at equivalent of USD 10.23/MMBtu and USD 9.92/MMBtu, respectively.

Prices picked up at the tail end of last week amid a tight supply outlook, with planned outages at LNG terminals in France and Netherlands limiting LNG imports. Pipeline exports from Norway have also been hit due to an unplanned outage at the Karsto gas processing plant, cutting flows to Europe by 19 MMcm/d through to 22 June, according to EnergyScan.

Prices continued to rally on Monday with the July-dated TTF contract trading above EUR 30/MWh in the morning – a level at which gas-fired power plants in Europe with average efficiency "start to become less competitive than coal-fired power plants with average efficiency at current EUA and coal price levels,” according to EnergyScan.

The gas price rally helped lift European carbon price, which rallied by 1.9% to settle at EUR 51.81/tonne.

In the US, gas benchmark Henry Hub slipped by 1.2% but remained in the USD 3.2/MMBtu range.

As for Asian LNG marker JKM, the front-month contract rolled over into August, with strengthening prices in Europe helping to push the marker higher. JKM settled at USD 11.87/MMBtu on Friday, helping extend the Asian LNG marker’s premium over TTF to USD 1.64/MMBtu.

Crude prices rebounded on Friday, with Brent rallying by 0.6% but remaining in the USD 73/barrel range, with WTI up 0.8% but remaining in the USD 71/barrel range.

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.

Contact the editor:

Eric Thorp
[email protected]

Subscription Benefits

Our three titles – LNG Business Review, Gas Matters and Gas Matters Today – tackle the biggest questions on global developments and major industry trends through a mixture of news, profiles and analysis.

LNG Business Review

LNG Business Review seeks to discover new truths about today’s LNG industry. It strives to widen market players’ scope of reference by actively engaging with events, offering new perspectives while challenging existing ones, and never shying away from being a platform for debate.

Gas Matters

Gas Matters digs deep into the stories of today, keeping the challenges of tomorrow in its sights. Weekly features and interviews, informed by unrivalled in-house expertise, offer a fresh perspective on events as well as thoughtful, intelligent analysis that dares to challenge the status quo.

Gas Matters Today

Gas Matters Today cuts through the bluster of online news and views to offer trustworthy, informed perspectives on major events shaping the gas and LNG industries. This daily news service provides unparalleled insight by drawing on the collective knowledge of in-house reporters, specialist contributors and extensive archive to go beyond the headlines, making it essential reading for gas industry professionals.

Did you know that your Internet Explorer Browser is out of date?

Your MS Internet Explorer browser is out of date, and will not be fully compatible with our website. For best browsing experience we recommend that you upgrade your IE browser to a more recent version or use an alternative, more recent browser.