Oil & Markets
Brent crude futures climbed approximately 1.5% on Friday, settling at $82.78 after better-than-expected US employment data rekindled hopes that local demand will remain strong. While most of last week was characterised by fears of hawkish central banks, the Fed may have less reason to hike interest rates than some had feared. A report on Friday highlighted that inflation is receding, and the Covid-disrupted labour market is returning to normal. Wall Street took a dive on Friday after shock waves caused by the Silicon Valley Bank failure rippled through financial markets, with the S&P taking losing nearly 1.5% a second day in a row, dipping below $3900.
Gas & Power
Wholesale gas prices some significant growth on Friday, on the back of heavy snowfall in northwest Europe and forecasted disruptions in LNG imports. The benchmark Dutch front-month contract went up by 21.87%, settling at 45.54 €/MWh, while the UK front-month contract rose by 21.23%, settling at 133.56 p/therm. It is important to note that while these are significant increases, they are still more or less within rangebound behaviour. Power markets followed suit with similar increases across the board, however German spot managed to lose 14.7% on strong winds, and disruptions in French nuclear capacity reduced total power supply by 24%, acting bullishly on most forward contracts.
How the market has opened each day:
DAY AHEAD PRICES | Gas (pence per therm) | Electric (£ per MWh) |
06/03/2023 | 117.00 | 134.00 |
07/03/2023 | 118.78 | 131.00 |
08/03/2023 | 114.45 | 127.00 |
09/03/2023 | 117.50 | 116.75 |
10/03/2023 | 135.00 | 120.00 |
13/03/2023 | 128.00 | 111.00 |
7 day averages
Gas (pence per therm) 121.79
Electric (£ per MWh) 123.29
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