Lower prices in Europe and in Asia

Spot and near curve prices were down on Friday in most European gas markets as interests switched to the March contract, a period during which the European supply/demand balance is expected to be much more comfortable thanks to lower seasonal demand and the (expected) increase in LNG supply. The drop in EUA prices provided additional downward pressure as it reduced parity prices with coal for power generation.

Moreover, in Asia, system baseload spot power prices on the Japan Electric Power Exchange for delivery today dropped to €52/MWh, compared to €64/MWh for delivery on Friday, far below the record levels of early January. JKM spot prices were almost stable on Friday, at €26.849/MWh yesterday, +0.39% day-on-day, but -23.41% week-on-week.

On the pipeline supply side, Russian flows remained stable on Friday, at 318 mm cm/day on average, still significantly below the 371 mm cm/day on average of December 2020. Norwegian flows were up, averaging 343 mm cm/day, compared to 339 mm cm/day on Thursday.