Pricewatch | 13 Jan 2023 | Gas Matters Today

European natural gas prices rose on Thursday on reports of colder winter temperatures coming back to the continent from next week.

TTF’s front-month contract on Thursday rose 3% to USD 21.19/MMBtu, while the UK’s NBP saw a 4.7% lift to USD 20.39/MMBtu.

The weather in northwest Europe is expected to turn colder, including below zero temperatures, from 16 January after a prolonged period of spring-like weather that have resulted in plunging gas and electricity demand.

Still, with gas inventories at high levels of 82.3%, Europe should be able to weather the upcoming cold spell.

JKM, meanwhile, remained relatively stable, down 0.4% to USD26.76/MMBtu.

In the US, Henry Hub was flat at USD 3.68/MMBtu. Reports suggest Freeport LNG maintains its target of resuming production in the second half of January, despite growing concerns in the market that the operator faces further regulatory curbs.

Front-month futures and indexes at last close with day-on-day changes (click to enlarge): Time references based on London GMT. Brent, WTI, NBP, TTF and EU CO2 data from ICE. Henry Hub, JKM and API2 data from CME. Prices in USD/MMBtu based on exchange rates at last market close. All monetary values rounded to nearest whole cent/penny. Text and graphic copyright © Gas Strategies, all rights.