Dutch and British gas prices were steady on Wednesday morning as signs that more tankers are moving through the Strait of Hormuz led to hopes of renewed LNG exports from the region.
The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub was down €0.254 at €41.76 per megawatt hour (MWh) or around $13.90/mmBtu, by 08:10 GMT, ICE data showed.
The British June contract was down 0.52p at 99.77p per therm.
“LNG ships have started passing through the Strait of Hormuz again, and even though it will take several weeks before the ships reach their destinations, the gas market is obviously relieved,” analysts at Mind Energy said in a daily research note.
Three supertankers carrying crude oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, while seven empty Qatar-linked liquefied natural gas tankers have entered in recent weeks, an early sign that Persian Gulf gas shipping may be resuming, ship-tracking data showed.
Hopes of fresh LNG supplies helped offset strong gas demand from the power sector as high temperatures and low wind speeds gripped Europe.
Britain’s National Energy System Operator issued an electricity margin notice for Wednesday evening, asking generators to make more power available amid high temperatures and low wind power output.
Peak wind power generation in Britain is forecast at 6.2 GW on Wednesday, then climbing to 14 GW on Thursday, Elexon data showed. In France, some nuclear power plants have faced production curbs due to high river temperatures, which are usually used to cool the plants.
(Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
