Gas Prices up again as cold weather drives demand
Gas prices went up on Tuesday amid higher demand and a strengthening wider energy complex.
Contracts across the curve posted similar gains throughout the session with the majority seeing upside of circa 0.05p/kWh when compared to their previous settlements.
A surge in gas demand was likely the prime source of price increases at the front-end. According to data from National Gas, actual demand rose once again on Tuesday to over 285mcm/day, outpacing seasonal averages for the first time in thirty-nine consecutive gas-days.
Furthermore, a pressured energy complex perhaps offered further reason for increases further along the curve. ICE data shows that both the Brent Crude and Carbon EUA benchmark contracts each posted day-on-day gains, with oil seeing upside of over $1/barrel and carbon futures increasing by almost €2/tonne.
This morning, gas prices have opened relatively in line when compared to their previous close, with some near-dated contracts posting small bullish moves at time of writing.
In terms of UK’s current electricity demand, if we check the latest half hourly period at the time of writing (08:30 – 09:00), electricity demand is currently 37.77 GW’s in the UK.
In terms of the generation mix, gas is currently the biggest contributor at 18.02 GW’s (45.98%). Wind power is a close second generating 10.27 GW’s (26.20%) of the UK’s total electricity.
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