Gas Market
The gas markets eased on Friday as the weather outlook should dent demand in the coming week as temperatures rise to seasonal norms while wind generation is to pick up. The prompt shrugged off the lower deliveries from Norway and the Spot and Day ahead ended the session 2.70p and 3.20p per therm lower. The unplanned outage at Sleipner extended into Friday curtailing imports from Norway, however, a robust shift from the LNG facilities with send out rising to 120mcm compensated for the Norwegian shortfall. On curve, the front month for the NBP, March, reversed some of the previous day’s gains and settled almost a penny lower at 76.25p, which took the decline for the week to just shy of 9.00p. The Summer-26 contract eased by 0.46p, day-on-day or 3.46p for the five-days.
Power Market
Baseload for the Day ahead eased on Friday in response to forecasts for increased wind generation. The product settled £6.44/MWh down at £77.56/MWh, the lower settlement for five-weeks. GB baseload futures responded to the weaker gas and carbon prices on Friday. The March contract declined by £1.00/MWh to £74.25/MWh but over the week the front month has shed £9.18/MWh. The Summer-26 contract settled at £66.65/MWh, down £0.80/MWh day-on-day.
After some early uncertainty, carbon prices continued to weaken on Friday. Recent calls for an overhaul of the allowances scheme from several members of the European parliament has led to a selloff in the market. EUAs declined by over 10% this week, the largest weekly decline in over two-years. At the close, the Dec-26 EUA contract was down €2.22 to €70.87 per tonne.
Oil Market
The oil markets steadied on Friday after a sharp fall on Thursday due to easing tensions between Iran and the US. The latest data from the world’s largest oil consumer showed inflation slowed in January, mainly due to cheaper gasoline prices and constraints in rental inflation. This has prompted the calls for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Lowering interest rates allow borrowers to spend more which boosts demand. With the International Energy Agency, forecasting a sizeable surplus in 2026, reports that OPEC+ were considering raising production in April held back gains on Friday. Brent for April delivery settled 23 cents up at $67.75 a barrel.
Markets this morning
Energy prices across the board are weaker this morning. The NBP prompt is down with the Day ahead product around 4.70p per therm lower. The gas system is showing a surplus this morning despite lower flows through the Langeled line as reports of a compressor failure at Ormen Lange is curtailing output by 12mcm. On the curve, the front month has shed 4.15p to last trade at 72.10p while the April contract is down 3.04p to 71.19p. Carbon EUAs opened lower with the Dec-26 contract trading down to €69.81 per tonne before 09:00 but has since recovered and trading slightly above Friday’s close. Crude oil prices have eased with Brent 11 cents down at $67.64 a barrel.
