Prices shift higher as optimism declines around Russia-Ukraine peace talks

NBP gas prices lifted into the close on Thursday amid declining optimism regarding Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

Following confirmation that Russian President Putin would not be attending talks with his Ukrainian counterpart President Zelensky as some had hoped, the absence of direct engagement between the two leaders was noted by market participants, potentially influencing sentiment regarding the outlook for negotiations.

Further increases were likely subdued in part by healthy EU storage levels which have increased by almost 10% since the beginning of April thanks to consistently mild weather across the continent (data from Gas Infrastructure Europe).

This week’s forecast from NESO indicates that calm weather conditions are expected to continue into next week, though solar generation is projected to remain strong.

This outlook is supported by the Met Office’s long-range forecast which anticipates continued sunny and dry conditions over the coming days. These weather patterns are likely to sustain high solar output, therefore subduing demand for gas-fired power generation.

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Price commentary courtesy of Crown Gas and Power