Gas prices hold steady amid record high storage levels
Gas prices held steady at the NBP on Friday, as record high storage levels mediated near-term supply risks.
Late afternoon trade brought with it a slight uptick in curve contracts, but this was short-lived however as markets quickly shook off news of Ukrainian shelling within Russian territory.
Earlier in the day, a statement was made by Governor of Russia’s Kursk Region, Alexei Smirnov claiming that Ukrainian artillery had hit several towns near the border with Russia. This included the town of Sudzha, which serves as a crucial nomination point for Russian pipeline exports to the EU (via Ukraine) however no mention was made of damaged infrastructure and flows via Sudzha are continuing as normal this morning.
At the same time, well above-average EU storage levels likely continued to preserve a price ceiling for contracts across the curve. According to the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe, continental storage stocks now stand at 73.18% which is a massive 15 percentage points above the 10 year moving-average of 58.15%.
This morning, key contracts are being offered at a slight discount when compared to Fridays close, with the Winter 24 front-season contract currently being offered circa 1.5p/therm (0.05p/kWh) below its previous settlement at time of writing
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