Wholesale market reacts to barrage of LNG vessels arriving at UK shores
NBP Gas prices continued to lose value on Monday amid a barrage of LNG vessels and despite firm oil prices given recent events in the Middle East.
The biggest losses were posted at the front-end, with both the front-month and front-season contracts declining by more than 3.2p/therm (0.11p/kWh) when compared to their previous close (data from ICE).
A multitude of incoming LNG cargoes likely added weight to contracts across the near-curve; the latest shipping signals indicate that as many as 10 laden vessels could arrive at UK terminals over the next 2 weeks. This includes the ‘Maran Gas Vergina’, which is scheduled to offload Trinidadian volumes at the South Hook terminal this evening (data from the Port of Milford Haven).
Furthermore, data from National Gas shows that LNG send out averaged at 104mcm/d across yesterday’s session, an increase of 70% day-on-day and enough to meet almost 40% of forecasted British gas demand.
In other news, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria has reportedly left somewhat of a power vacuum in the region.
BBC news reports indicate that Israel has launched several missile strikes across Syria since 8th December and Prime Minister Netanyahu has ordered the complete seizure of the UN implemented buffer zone between the two countries in order to establish a “temporary defensive position”.
Rapid news developments from the area fed underlying support into the wider energy complex, with ICE data showing that both the Brent and WTI crude oil benchmarks each lifted by more than $1.00/barrel day-on-day.
This morning, gas prices have opened very much in line, with most being offered not too far from their previous settlements at time of writing.
If you want to see more information on the wholesale market trends subscribe to our weekly report here.
Price commentary courtesy of Crown Gas and Power 