Lower demand drives prices down slightly as British system is oversupplied

NBP gas prices reversed course at the NBP on Thursday, erasing some of the gains posted in the previous session.

The biggest moves were this time concentrated along the prompt and front-month contracts, the latter of which saw daily losses of 2p/therm (0.07p/kWh) when compared to its previous close.

A sharp drop in system demand likely served as a key source of help. Data from National Gas shows that, as of 3pm, demand was forecast to total 209.7mcm which was 45.8mcm below the seasonal norm for that date, resulting in a British grid that was slightly oversupplied throughout the session.

More generally, European gas hubs look ahead to US talks with Russia and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia last week, perhaps with a degree of optimism on the back of the constructive Russia-Ukraine talks in Jeddah earlier this month.

This morning gas prices have regrettably opened at a slight premium of around 3p/therm (0.10p/kWh), as the market continues to advance in the rangebound fashion established over the past few weeks.

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Price commentary courtesy of Crown Gas and Power