Gas prices climb again

Last week, we saw less wind generation across Northwestern Europe. Especially at the beginning of the week, there was little renewable generation in Germany. The average Dutch spot price was 67.4 €/MWh, about €10 more than a week earlier.
Various weather models last week indicated that there could be a (brief) end to the warm and mild weather which would lead to less renewable generation in the upcoming weeks. Gas-fired power generation would surge as a result. At the same time, it was announced that the partial outage of the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas would be extended by another 2 weeks. Gas prices subsequently rose. Gas contracts for April and May increased by almost €3 and closed at 25.8 and 25.9 €/MWh, respectively.
The CO2 price, which has plummeted in recent weeks, rose by about €4. The contract for December 2024 closed at 56.4 €/EUA. CO2 for next year closed almost €4.5 higher at 58.5 €/EUA. Coal prices also rose. The coal contract for April increased by almost €15 and closed just below 100 €/ton.
Due to the increase in the prices of commodities such as gas, coal, and CO2, we also saw power prices rise. April increased by €7 and closed at 55 €/MWh, while May closed €5 higher at 50.9 €/MWh. The clean spark spreads for the coming months remain very negative. Relative power demand still seems to be lower than normal, and with the increase in installed solar capacity in both the Netherlands and Germany, there may be several moments where there is a surplus of power. The spark spread for April remained almost unchanged at -14.4 €/MWh. The spark spread for May deteriorated by one and a half euros and was approximately -18.7 €/MWh.

For the coming years, we also saw prices increase significantly last week. The CO2 price for the upcoming years rose by around 4 to 5 euros. Gas for next year settled at 30 €/MWh by the end of the week. The Dutch power price for 2025 was 73.5 €/MWh. The clean spark spread increased by half a euro to -4.6 €/MWh.