Prices move within narrow range awaiting new geopolitical developments

NBP gas prices moved within a narrow holding pattern on Wednesday as participants awaited new geopolitical developments.

On Monday, President Trump dismissed the latest peace terms from Iran as a “piece of garbage”, doubling down that Iran must hand over its entire deposits of enriched Uranium, though Iran’s terms stipulated that it could keep a portion of its stockpile. The nuclear issue has been a major sticking point for the progress of talks.

On the storage front, European storage injections are proceeding steadily, but at a slower rate vs last year due to restricted LNG supplies and unfavourable pricing dynamics. The deficit to last year, has widened slightly to around 7.5% as a result.

Baseload power prices also held within a narrow range, displaying the same hesitant sentiment as closely linked markets such as gas, oil and carbon.

Renewables continued to output at significantly higher levels than the same time last week, keeping gas-fired power demand in check and easing system balancing costs, with wind and solar averaged at relatively consistent levels.

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Price commentary courtesy of Crown Gas and Power