Markets ease slightly as Russian gas flows are maintained

Gas prices breathed a small sigh of relief on Thursday, as Russian-EU flow nominations held steady despite recent legal tensions.

Afternoon trade brought with it the swift reversal of bullish momentum that had been built up across the previous two sessions as Europe appeared to circumvent a potential supply shock.

In a statement from Austria’s OMV AG (one of the continents last remaining importers of Russian pipeline gas) the operator confirmed that they were unaware of any changes to flow nominations via the Sudzha entry point, suggesting that Russian supply will be uninterrupted for now.

In other news, the EU has agreed its 14th package of sanctions against Russia, focusing on tying up loopholes regarding trans-shipments of LNG and also aiming to limit European firms abroad from accessing the SPFS banking system that was established by Russia and it’s allies after the 6th round of sanctions banned most major Russian banks from accessing the universal SWIFT system.

This morning, natural gas prices have opened in softer territory, with the Winter 24 front-season contract last trading circa 1p/therm (0.03p/kWh) below its previous settlement at time of writing.

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