UK Energy Market Summary to Friday 31st May 2024
Closing prices 31.05.2024
British near-term gas prices?dropped on Tuesday, with?NBP spot?trading 1.6% lower at 2.8p/kwh as traders took profit from gains recently posted. Further out the curve,?the gas price for Win-24 delivery?fell by 1.3% to close at 3.4p/kwh. The market remains stable with steady Norwegian imports.
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European spot electricity prices?continued to evolve differently on Wednesday amid mixed signals.?The spot power price in Germany?surged by 23% to end at 97.45 EUR/MWh, on the back of plummeting wind output, which offset forecasts of weaker demand due to regional holiday.
At time of writing, European gas storage levels are 70% full, with the UK 43% full. 2023/24 European gas storage levels have ended Winter 23 at record levels. Over the past week gas has accounted for 15% of the UK generation mix with wind accounting for 32%, solar 9% and nuclear accounting for 18%. Below summarises curve prices as at close of business on Friday.
Curve UK Gas & Electricity Markets
Other Energy Markets
Oil prices?extended their gains on Tuesday as investors anticipated an extension of production cuts at the upcoming OPEC+ meeting. Escalating geopolitical tensions further supported prices. Hence,?Brent crude?settled at $84.22 per barrel, while?WTI Crude?stood at $79.83 per barrel, with both contracts rising by 1.4% day-on-day.
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On Thursday,?European carbon?prices fluctuated within a narrow range and were closely mirroring movements in gas prices. Investors were still digesting the weekly investor data released on Wednesday. As a result,?EUAs expiring in Dec24?soared by 2%,?closing at 75.48 EUR/tonne.
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