European Gas Supported by Bullish Factors Friday

Benchmark European gas futures rose as much as 10% on Friday — and over 15% for the week as some bullish demand factors came into play.

• Gas flows are reduced at Aasta Hansteen in Norway due to process issues at the facility, according to network manager Gassco AS but is expected back by later today or tomorrow.
• *GASSCO: AASTA HANSTEEN GAS CUT WIDENS TO 10.8 MCM/D FRIDAY
• In the UK, an unplanned outage at the Tolmount platform, which started on Tuesday, was extended again until Saturday.
• Strong electricity demand in southern Europe because of cooling required in the current heatwave is supporting gas this week - strong temperatures are set to persist.
• Natural gas plants generated around 22% of Spain’s electricity June 1-July 19, but comprised 30% of Spain’s electricity July 18. In 2022 compared to an average of 25% in 2022.
• Italy’s electricity usage also reached its yearly record high of 59.10 GW July 19, according to grid operator Terna, similarly driven by soaring temperatures. It was forecast to peak at 55GW July 21.
• Temperature highs for the Greek mainland are forecast to reach 48C by next Wednesday, nearing the record of 48.8C set on the Italian island of Sicily in 2021.
• Fears around Russian LNG supply to Europe after the grain deal collapse are also spurring European gas.
• There are signs of increasing competition for LNG. Prices for the fuel in Northwest Europe, normally lower than hub rates in Amsterdam, flipped to a small premium by the end of the week for the first time since December 2021, data from Spark Commodities showed.
• TTF AUG 23 up 9.1% at 30.56€/MWh
• TTF WIN 23 up 2.4% at 50.44€/MWh
• JKM-TTF Aug 23 down -0.6$/mmbtu at 1.01$/mmbtu