Prices soften despite falling Norwegian gas supply
Gas prices at the NBP softened slightly on Tuesday, moving in tandem with its European counterparts as it emerged from the summer bank holiday.
Market participants, perhaps reassured by strong continental storage levels, entered the week with confidence despite falling Norwegian supply.
According to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe, reserves stood at 76.24% as of Monday. While below the 91.6% recorded on the same date last year, the EU seems well placed to meet its revised target of 83% at any time between 1st October and 1st December.
Norwegian pipeline flows into Great Britain were nominated at 37.2mcm on Tuesday, down from 53.4mcm the previous gas-day, with further curtailments expected over the course of this week.
A similarly bearish start to the week for baseload power prices as a recovery in renewable generation likely served as a key source of support along the prompt and near-curve.
Data from National Grid shows that wind averaged 10.1GW on Tuesday, the largest share of generation at 35.4% of the power mix.
Nuclear generation has been noticeably weak as of late, outputting just 2.8GW yesterday (7.1%). This was only around half the same date last year, reflecting the importance of new capacity from projects such as Sizewell C, which is expected to supply 3.2GW once completed in the mid-to-late 2030s.
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Price commentary courtesy of Crown Gas and Power 