NATGAS: Gas Summary at European Close: TTF on the Rise

Nov-04 16:29

TTF front month has rebounded today as the market weighs the mild start to November against geopolitical risks and winter supply risks. 

  • TTF DEC 24 up 2.8% at 40.28€/MWh
  • The market remains wary of tight supplies this winter amid LNG competition from Asia and any unplanned supply disruption with uncertainty over Ukraine transit flows into next year.
  • Temperatures in NW Europe are forecast above normal through the coming week while wind output is expected to remain low in the coming days.  Temperatures could drift down towards normal by the middle of November.
  • Norwegian pipeline supplies to Europe are nominated up to 339.1mcm/d today, according to Bloomberg compared to an average of 335mcm/d over the previous week. Gassco shows planned unavailable capacity of 6.5mcm/d this week at Gullfaks.
  • European gas storage edged up to 95.21% full on Nov. 2, according to GIE after small net injections on the day.
  • European LNG imports rose to 46 in October from 37 in September but below 60 arrivals seen in October 2023, according to Bloomberg.
  • Russian gas pipeline flows to Europe rose in October, with supplies via TurkStream topping 50 mcm/d for several days, Platts said.
  • All three Freeport LNG production trains were restarted, and operations restored after a power interruption, according to a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality filing on Friday.
  • TotalEnergies has signed a sales agreement with Sinopec for delivery of 2m tons of LNG per year for 15 years, starting in 2028, according to a press release.

Historical bullets

JGB TECHS: (Z4) Bullish Theme Fades

Oct-04 22:45
  • RES 3: 149.55 - High Mar 22 (cont)
  • RES 2: 147.74 - High Jan 15 and bull trigger (cont)  
  • RES 1: 146.53 - High Aug 6 
  • PRICE: 144.32 @ 16:23 BST Oct 04
  • SUP 1: 143.57 - Jul 17 high
  • SUP 2: 142.23 - Low Jul 02
  • SUP 3: 140.21 - 1.236 proj of Mar 22 - Nov 1 ‘23 - Jan 15 price swing    

The bullish outlook for JGBs was dealt a further blow Friday on the stronger-than-expected US jobs print. As a result, JGBs slipped sharply to pullback lows of 144.300 - however the low is still clear of next support at 143.57. Additionally, moving average studies on the continuation chart are in a bull-mode position, highlighting a clear uptrend. A continuation higher would open 146.53, the Aug 6 high(cont) and a bull trigger. 

USDCAD TECHS: Corrective Phase

Oct-04 20:00
  • RES 4: 1.3739 High Aug 15    
  • RES 3: 1.3693 High Aug 19  
  • RES 2: 1.3647 High Sep 19 and key resistance
  • RES 1: 1.3584/91 50-day EMA / High Oct 4
  • PRICE: 1.3579 @ 16:39 BST Oct 4
  • SUP 1: 1.3473/3420 Low Oct 2 / Low Sep 25 and the bear trigger 
  • SUP 2: 1.3413 Low Feb 9
  • SUP 3: 1.3358 76.4% retracement of the Dec 27 ‘23 - Aug 5 bull run
  • SUP 4: 1.3288 Low Jan 5 

The trend condition in USDCAD remains bearish and the latest recovery appears to be a correction - for now. The strong Sep 24 sell-off reinforced a bearish theme. The pair breached support at 1.3441, the Aug 28 low, confirming a resumption of the downtrend that started Aug 5. This paves the way for an extension towards 1.3358, a Fibonacci retracement. Resistance to watch is 1.3584, 50-day EMA - a level pierced on Friday. A break would expose 1.3647, Sep 19 high.    

US TSYS: Tsys Broadly Lower, Curves Flatter After Strong September Job Gains

Oct-04 19:37
  • Treasuries gapped lower following this morning's stronger than expected jobs data for September, futures gradually extending session lows since midmorning while curves bear flatten: 2s10s -8.542 at 5.295 -- the lowest since mid-September.
  • Payrolls growth was far stronger than expected in September at 254k (cons 150k) for a 104k surprise, nearly entirely driven by the 98k surprise for private payrolls (223k vs cons 125k).
  • The status flows within the household survey echo the strong headline figures that saw the unemployment rate surprisingly fall from 4.22% to 4.05%. The outright shift from employed to unemployed (-215k) extended the improvement seen in Aug (-47k) after what had been a sharp 292k increase in July that drove the surprise lurch in the unemployment rate to 4.25%.
  • Markets have been swift to price out a 50bp November rate cut after September's employment report came in much stronger than expected - in addition to revisions that recast the summer's weak hiring in a much more positive light. Indeed, November implied pricing has even dipped a little below 25bp, suggesting potential for a rate hold.
  • Meanwhile, focus turns to next week's CPI and PPI inflation measures on Thursday and Friday respectively, prefaced by Wednesday's September FOMC minutes release.