Prices fluctuate within a narrow range amid strong LNG imports

NBP gas prices fluctuated in a narrow range on Thursday, lacking a clear direction of trade but still holding at relatively soft levels when compared to the range established over the past few weeks.

Robust LNG signals continued to serve as the primary source of pressure at the front-end, with a steady stream of cargoes offloading at British terminals every other day, most of which from the US.

At the same time, Norwegian maintenance continued to serve as a price floor, with a combination of planned and unplanned works weighing on export flows from Europe’s largest supplier.

The Sleipner field, sandwiched between key pipeline infrastructure was taken offline yesterday, directly reducing GB flows via the Langeled route by an additional 6.6%.

Power curve contracts saw more substantial downside versus their gas counterparts as steep losses on the carbon market weighed on the cost of fossil fuel generation.

According to data from ICE, the benchmark Carbon EUA contract registered a significant daily decline of 7.5%.

While renewable generation has held fairly steady so far this week, pronounced bearishness on carbon and oil markets is weighing on power markets across the continent.

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Price commentary courtesy of Crown Gas and Power