Dutch and British wholesale gas prices were steady on Thursday morning after Qatar said Iran and the U.S. had made progress in indirect talks focused on the Strait of Hormuz while low gas storage levels continued to support the market.
The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub (TFMBMc1) was up €1.0016 at €43.795/per megawatt hour (MWh) or around $14.66 /mmBtu, by 0811 GMT, ICE data showed.
The British June contract (NGLNMc1) was up 2.25 pence at 103.94 pence per therm.
“Price action is likely to be driven more by fundamentals today, with no Doha talks scheduled. However, the market remains sensitive to headlines, and any statements from US or Iranian officials could quickly influence sentiment,” said Wayne Bryan, head of gas research at LSEG.
Total Norwegian export nominations are down by 5 million cubic metres/day to 330 mcm/d, LSEG data showed with supply curbed by an outage at Norway's Oseberg field.
An increase in wind power production in Germany was expected to reduce demand for gas from power plants, with wind power expected to remain strong in the country until the middle of next week.
Low gas storage levels in Europe remain a concern and continued to support prices.
“The pressure on the European gas market remains high due to the low storage levels, the reduced French nuclear production and the risk of new heat waves across the continent next week,” analysts at Mind Energy said.
Europe’s gas stores are 49.1% full, the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed.
France’s nuclear power capacity is currently 44 GW and expected to rise to 50 GW from July 8, LSEG data showed. However, forecasts for warmer temperatures next week have raised concerns about more possible production curbs due to high river temperatures.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract ICEENDEX:ECF1! rose by €0.41 to €79.95 a metric ton.