22
Oct
2020

Pricewatch | 22 Oct 2020 | Gas Matters Today

Only Subscribers can read the full Article

US gas benchmark Henry Hub yesterday broke through the USD 3/MMBtu threshold for the first time since early 2019, as the front-month contract rose 3.8% to settle at USD 3.02/MMBtu on flattening output and rising exports of US LNG. Prompt HH has not been this expensive since 25 January 2019, when it hit USD 3.18/MMBtu. The month-ahead contract has soared 65% over the past month, having struck a low of USD 1.83/MMBtu on 22 September 2020.

European gas hubs NBP and TTF were virtually unchanged, while CME’s December-dated JKM futures contract gained 2.7% to close at USD 6.73/MMBtu.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on growing concerns over global oil demand in the face of rising Covid-19 infections and the renewed imposition of lockdowns and travel restrictions across Europe and internationally, which overshadowed mildly encouraging data on US crude stocks. Brent fell 3.3% to USD 41.73/barrel and WTI fell 4% to USD 40.03/barrel, although the sell-off might have been overdone as both were trading up by around 0.5% on Thursday morning.

The European carbon price crashed to a four-month low on Wednesday, as month-ahead ETS allowance (EUA) futures fell 3.4% to close at EUR 23.57/tonne – the lowest closing price for ICE’s front-month EUA contract since 17 June 2020. The descent seems to reflect growing market expectations that Covid-19 could hamper industrial activity in Europe and depress demand for EUAs.

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 reserved.

Contact the editor:

Sebastian Kennedy
[email protected]

Subscription Benefits

Our three titles – LNG Business Review, Gas Matters and Gas Matters Today – tackle the biggest questions on global developments and major industry trends through a mixture of news, profiles and analysis.

LNG Business Review

LNG Business Review seeks to discover new truths about today’s LNG industry. It strives to widen market players’ scope of reference by actively engaging with events, offering new perspectives while challenging existing ones, and never shying away from being a platform for debate.

Gas Matters

Gas Matters digs deep into the stories of today, keeping the challenges of tomorrow in its sights. Weekly features and interviews, informed by unrivalled in-house expertise, offer a fresh perspective on events as well as thoughtful, intelligent analysis that dares to challenge the status quo.

Gas Matters Today

Gas Matters Today cuts through the bluster of online news and views to offer trustworthy, informed perspectives on major events shaping the gas and LNG industries. This daily news service provides unparalleled insight by drawing on the collective knowledge of in-house reporters, specialist contributors and extensive archive to go beyond the headlines, making it essential reading for gas industry professionals.

Did you know that your Internet Explorer Browser is out of date?

Your MS Internet Explorer browser is out of date, and will not be fully compatible with our website. For best browsing experience we recommend that you upgrade your IE browser to a more recent version or use an alternative, more recent browser.