Cold weather drives prices up amid increased demand
Gas prices continued their upwards trajectory on Friday amid unseasonably high demand and increased storage withdrawals.
The January-23 front-month contract posted some of the biggest gains in the session, moving up 0.14p/kWh when compared to its previous settlement.
Above average demand likely acted as a prime source of support, data from National gas shows actual demand outpaced seasonal norms by a massive 100mcm/day.
The surge in demand contributed to an increase in storage withdrawals, adding to the bullish sentiment.
According to Gas Infrastructure Europe, European storage facilities have fallen by circa 3.25% when compared to the same day last week amid the first cold spell of the winter period.
Gas prices have opened in bearish territory at the NBP this morning with the Summer-24 contract last trading 0.17p/kWh lower than Fridays close.
If we check the latest half hourly period at the time of writing (09:30 – 10.00), electricity demand in the UK has increased to 43.48 GW’s. 45.46% (19.77 GW’s) is being generated from gas at the moment with wind turbines contributing 13.96 GW’s (32.10%) to the overall mix.
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