05/06/2023 - Weekly Wholesale Energy Market Report

Your Weekly Wholesale Energy Market Update - 05/06/2023

See below for the latest weekly wholesale energy market report and movements that have happened in the last week.

Oil and Markets - Weekly Energy Report

Over the last week, the oil markets experienced both bullish and bearish trends. On June 1st, the OPEC+ weekend meeting led to a shift in sentiment, leaning more towards the bullish side and favoring further production cuts. This news was followed by Saudi Arabia's pledge to reduce its output on top of existing supply cuts, adding to investor fears, causing Brent crude futures to gain 2.5%.

However, the global economy's uncertainties and muted demand caused by recent mild weather conditions caused oil prices to fall later in the week. Brent crude slipped by 1.2% to $62.71 a barrel on June 4th, while WTI crude lost 0.6% to reach $55.29 per barrel.

Despite continued fluctuations in prices, Brent Crude still managed to finish the week higher, gaining 0.3% compared to the previous week and trading at $62.57 a barrel on June 7th. Meanwhile, WTI crude remained almost flat week-over-week, trading at $55.29 per barrel.

Overall, the oil markets have been volatile over the last week, with production cuts, global economic uncertainties, and muted demand driving prices. Despite the downward pressure, the market retained some stability towards the end of the week, benefiting from some bullish news following the weekend OPEC+ meeting.

Gas and Power - Weekly Energy Report

Over the last week, the gas and power markets in the UK witnessed fluctuations in pricing trends. At the beginning of the week, the UK front-month gas contract gained 1.3%, settling at 54.95 p/therm due to technical corrections after sharp drops in the previous week. However, uncertainty over whether LNG will continue to flow to Europe during a time of high demand caused some cargoes to divert to more receptive markets. This led to muted demand, causing some bearish sentiment in the market.

Similarly, the UK front-month power contract gained 1.3%, settling at 70.10 £/MWh, powered by technical corrections and some scepticism about the coming months.

Towards the end of the week, the unexpected outage of the Hammerfest LNG plant in Norway caused bullish pressure on UK gas markets, leading to a 9% increase in the NBP front-month gas contract. Likewise, the UK power market saw a large change with the front-month contract growing by 8.6%, and the season-ahead contracts seeing an average increase of 3%.

Overall, the gas and power markets in the UK witnessed fluctuations in pricing trends driven by supply-side factors such as gas outages, technical corrections, and scepticism surrounding future demand amid uncertain weather conditions. The market remained largely stable towards the end of the week, benefiting from bullish news following the Hammerfest LNG plant outage.

Jargon Buster

• Bearish - In relation to energy markets, bearish means that there is an expectation of a decrease in the demand for energy products, or an increase in the supply of energy products, which would result in a decrease in the price of energy products. This could be due to a variety of factors such as a slower economic growth, overproduction of oil and gas, or the emergence of alternative sources of energy. A bearish outlook for energy markets suggests that companies operating in the industry may struggle to maintain profits and may be forced to cut costs or reduce production.

• Bullish - In relation to energy markets, bullish means that there is an expectation of an increase in demand for energy products, or a decrease in the supply of energy products, which would result in an increase in the price of energy products. This could be due to various reasons such as a growing global economy, production cuts by major oil-producing countries, geopolitical tensions that impact the supply, or a shift towards renewable energy sources. A bullish outlook for energy markets suggests that companies operating in the industry may see increased profits and may be able to invest in new projects to meet the growing demand for energy products.

How the market has opened each day:

7 day averages

Gas (pence per therm) 59.20

Electric (£ per MWh) 69.90

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