Wholesale power and gas contracts reversed recent trends and moved higher this week. Despite the arrival of seven LNG tankers during the first week of April, the gas system was undersupplied on Friday following a drop in flows from Norway. All baseload power contracts rose week-on-week, following gas counterparts up, while weaker wind generation also supported near-term contracts. A recovering EU ETS carbon market also drove prices up, gaining 5.6% to average €22.8/t. Day-ahead power was up 5.4% to end the week at £44.3/MWh. Earlier in the week the contract fell to a fresh 20-month low of £39.7/MWh. All seasonal power contracts rose, gaining 6.3% on average. All gas contracts rose week-on-week, as cooler temperatures lifted gas demand and an unexplained drop in flows from Norway on Friday led to an undersupplied system. Day-ahead gas increased 7.9% to end the week at a 38.1p/th. The contract had fallen to a fresh 22-month low of 31.5p/th on 3 April as the gas system was oversupplied following an influx of LNG tankers. All seasonal gas contracts went up, rising 6.8% on average, following Brent crude oil prices higher which gained 2.5% to average $69.2/bl. Oil prices found support from news that OPEC production cuts had taken the group’s output to a four-year low in March, with further support from waning Venezuelan production amid US sanctions and power outages. API 2 coal prices fell 4.3% to average $70.8/t, dropping to $68.0/t on 3 April, a 22-month low.
Baseload electricity | ||
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Forward curve comparison | Annual April Contract | |
Peak electricity | ||
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Forward curve comparison | Annual April contract | |
Seasonal power prices | ||
Seasonal baseload power contracts | Seasonal baseload power curve | |
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Commodity price movements | ||
Oil and Coal | Carbon | |
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Wholesale price snapshot |