Day-ahead gas prices on Continental Europe's trading hubs were mixed Thursday morning, as the Dutch TTF climbed from Wednesday's assessment, while spot prices on the German markets fell back by over half a euro.
At midday UK time, the Dutch TTF day-ahead contract was seen trading 25 euro cent higher than Wednesday's assessment at Eur34.85/MWh. In contrast, gas for Friday delivery on the German NetConnect was changing hands at Eur34.35/MWh, down by 55 euro cent from Wednesday's close, while the GASPOOL day-ahead contract was down by 65 euro cent at Eur34.25/MWh.
According to forecaster CustomWeather, temperatures in Germany could drop to as low as 13 degrees Celsius below the seasonal average in the coming week, with -3/-12 C forecast for Berlin, 0/-8 C for Hamburg and 3/-6 C for Munich over the weekend.
However, Platts unit Bentek Energy said German storage levels were healthier than at other markets such as the UK, standing at around 5.5 billion cubic meters, enabling averaged withdrawals of 180 million cu m/day this week, "a rate which looks set to continue today as demand remains high in northwest Europe."
"German storage appears the most reliable source to tap for meeting marginal demand," Bentek said.
According to CustomWeather, temperatures in the Netherlands should also be below average in the coming week, with Amsterdam averaging 3/-5 C.
On the TTF curve, contracts were seen stable to slightly higher, despite front-month Brent crude trading 41 cents lower at $108.31/barrel.
April gas was seen up by 10 euro cent at Eur27.00/MWh, while the Q2 13 contract edged 5 euro cent higher to Eur26.70/MWh.
Summer 13 prices were unchanged at Eur26.50/MWh, while gas for delivery in 2014 was up by 5 euro cent in value at Eur26.85/MWh.
