The NBP completed a third straight day of declines on Wednesday with some of the biggest losses seen on the prompt market.

Gas Market

The NBP completed a third straight day of declines on Wednesday with some of the biggest losses seen on the Spot and prompt. Despite changes being made to the Norwegian maintenance schedule on an ongoing basis, overall impact remains largely unchanged so far, with the GB system yesterday operating in a long position. Day ahead shed 7.00p to close the session at 85.05p per therm, while Within day fell by 6.50p to settle at 85.55p per therm. Further out, a shift in sentiment given the weakness across the wider energy complex, a reduction in geopolitical risk premiums and a healthy supply outlook, all combined to push future contracts down. October-24 fell by 3.39p to close at its lowest level since the end of July at 85.98p per therm. Winter-24 dropped 3.05p to close at 97.32p per therm.  

Power Market

GB baseload curve contracts declined further on Wednesday, following the downside exhibited by the NBP. Near months shed an average of £2.10/MWh with the October-24 contract falling by £2.72/MWh to close the session at £73.13/MWh. Winter-24 fell back by £1.88/MWh to finish at £86.00/MWh, its lowest close in over a month. Stronger wind forecasts helped to push the prompt market down, with Day ahead shedding £12.70/MWh to close at £78.99/MWh. European carbon markets fell on Wednesday as the wider energy complex remained weak. The EUA Spot closed at a 6-week low of €66.02 a tonne, a drop of €1.38 day-on-day.

Oil Market

Crude oil prices slipped further on Wednesday despite a choppy session. News of a potential delay to the recently reported OPEC+ output increases pegged for October provided some intra-day support. However lackluster data from the U.S. and China continued to reinforce expectations of a weaker global economy and oil demand which played into the eventual decline. Adding further momentum to the downside was the understanding that there could be an end in sight to the Libyan oil export dispute, which if resolved would bring more crude supply back online. Brent for November delivery shed $1.05 to settle at $72.70 a barrel, while front month WTI decreased by $1.14 to close the day at $69.20 a barrel.  

Markets this morning

The NBP curve has opened in positive territory this morning, while the Spot and prompt are yet to get going. Fundamentally, the market is largely unchanged day-on-day with the system once again operating in a long position, managing well despite the Norwegian maintenance outages. October-24 last went through at 87.50p per therm, an increase of 1.52p on Wednesday’s close. Similarly, Winter-24 has gained 1.20p to last trade at 98.52p per therm. Crude oil prices have also edged back up this morning as a possible delay to OPEC+ output increases were once again in focus. Brent for November delivery last traded at $73.16 a barrel, up 46 cents on its previous close.