Day ahead gas prices up as wind generation drops
Day ahead gas prices surged 0.23p/kWh above the previous close amid falling wind generation on Wednesday.
According to data from National Grid, wind turbine output fell by more than 25% when compared to the previous gas-day, this coincided with an 41% increase in gas-fired demand over the same period.
It was however a different story for the majority of contracts beyond the prompt, where relatively small losses were posted. The latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe shows that continental facilities are still over 99% full which is 4 percentage points higher than the same date last year.
On the LNG front, shipping signals suggest up to 5 laden vessels (all from the USA) could berth at British terminals over the next 2 weeks, this includes the Maran Gas Hector which is set to arrive at the Port of Milford Haven this afternoon.
Natural gas prices had initially opened lower in early trade this morning, however most are now being offered slightly above their previous settlement, at time of writing.
If we check the latest half hourly period at the time of writing (09:30 – 10.00), a lot of gas is currently is being used to generate electricity, with 55.68% (21.60 GW’s) of the UK’s total electricity demand (36.40 GW’s) being generated from gas at the moment. Electricity from wind turbines is only contributing 2.15 GW’s (5.55%).
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