National Lockdown & Business Energy
Dawn Pratt, Commercial Energy and Utility Management
?? CRISIS Management, Business Energy Expertise ??Energy Upgrades & New Installations ?? Utility Management & Procurement ?? Excellent Service & Delivery ?? 07810 717 304
Last Monday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a full national lockdown to take place the following day in England. This was in response to the rapid spread of new cases of COVID-19, with the highest daily total of cases since the start of the pandemic being recorded on Monday in the UK, reaching 58,784.
Despite this, we have seen contract prices continuing to increase for both gas and electricity. Even though we have entered our 3rd national lockdown, contract prices do not look to be heading to the lows last April and are already well above what they were this time last year, with both gas and electricity contracts showing an increase of 27% in price. The wholesale price of energy has steadily increased day by day, with Crude oil performing the opposite to what was expected and increasing by almost 6% in trade price since the lockdown announcement on Monday.
This Spring, prices are expected to increase even further to help alleviate some of the financial loss that energy suppliers incurred last year because of COVID-19 impacting the demand for energy. Therefore, the best new year's resolution you can help your business achieve for their business is to lock in a rate now and secure the price for their next energy contract.
Bullish Factors (upward pressure on markets):
- Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kazakhstan announcing pledges to cut their production quotas from February.
- Deliveries of gas to the UK lower than expected, tightening the supply outlook.
- London’s FTSE 100 was broadly flat at lunchtime on Tuesday, with the blue-chip benchmark showing resilience in spite of a new national lockdown in England.
- Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine being rolled out in the UK.
Bearish Factors (downward pressure on markets):
- New lockdown measures announced in England, Scotland, Italy, and Germany, with worldwide total cases rising to 88.1 million.
- Temperatures are forecasted to increase, threatening to reduce energy demand.
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Call: 07810717304
Website: www.utilinet-yorkshire.co.uk