Natural gas prices were a little higher on Monday with Europe up 0.7% to EUR 33.80, close to the intraday high, but still down 4.2% this month. It rose 7.8% last week driven by falling expectations of an easing of sanctions on Russia in the foreseeable future.
- Russia stated it needs to agree to any security guarantees and appears hesitant about a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting. Trump has again threatened Russia with “massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both” if an agreement isn’t reached in two weeks.
- Ukraine continued to target Russian energy infrastructure striking Russia’s Novatek PJSC gas facility on the Baltic Sea on the weekend.
- Europe’s refilling ahead of the upcoming heating season is progressing but gas prices are likely to be vulnerable to unexpected outages. Norway is now Europe’s main supplier and maintenance at a number of major facilities is ongoing. Unplanned extensions could add volatility to the market.
- US gas rose 0.4% to $2.709 to be down 12.8% in August and the RSI is now signalling that it is oversold, according to Bloomberg. Cooling demand is likely to be lacklustre with Vaisala forecasting below average temperatures across much of the US at the start of September.