Prices ease as wind power output rises

Dutch and British wholesale gas prices edged lower early on Friday as strong output from wind farms curbed demand for gas, and supply was stable.

The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub (TRNLTTFMc1) was down 0.33 euro at 32.05 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) or $10.99/mmBtu, by 0825 GMT, LSEG data showed.

The Dutch day-ahead contract (TRNLTTFD1) was down 0.16 euro at 32.37 euros/MWh.

The British day-ahead gas price (TRGBNBPD1) was down 0.81 pence at 80.50 p/per therm.

“Looking ahead, weaker gas-fired power demand due to stronger wind generation could weigh on spot prices, especially as the rest of the supply-demand balance remains broadly unchanged,” LSEG analyst Yuriy Onyshkiv said in a daily research note.

Non-local distribution zone demand in Northwest Europe, which includes demand from power plants, was forecast 517 gigawatt hours/day higher at 2,218 GWh/d for the day ahead, LSEG data showed.

Total Norwegian export nominations were 16 million cubic metres/day higher at 305 mcm/d, LSEG data showed.

The solid supply picture means withdrawals from Europe’s gas stores have slowed, which is also bearish for prices.

“Overall, European net gas storage withdrawals weakened yesterday and they are expected to drop again today,” analysts at Engie EnergyScan said in a daily market report.

Europe’s gas storage sites are almost 83% full, latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed.

The European Parliament's energy committee on Thursday supported proposals to speed up the EU's phase-out of Russian gas by a year to January 1, 2026, with limited exceptions allowed until the start of 2027.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract (CFI2Zc1) was down 1.15 euro at 78.36 euros a metric ton.