보기: Market Movers Europe, Jan 31-Feb 4: Power prices continue to rise as oil and gas grapple with uncertainty

In this week's highlights: Geopolitical tensions loom over gas supply in Central and Eastern Europe; more nuclear reactors go offline in France, and talks are underway over ethylene contract prices for February.

But first, in oil, with prices topping $90 a barrel in recent days amid the ongoing recovery in demand, worries over supply constraints, and escalating tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine, many are wondering if we will soon see $100 breached in the near future.

On the demand side, we're seeing some rowing back among forecasters due to inflation fears and lingering concerns over omicron, but Platts Analytics still forecasts annual demand growth of 4.6 million b/d and a return to pre-COVID levels this year.

The general expectation among commentators is that a meeting of OPEC+ crude producers on Wednesday will rubber-stamp a continued unwinding of cuts introduced in response to the pandemic, but attention is increasingly focused on supply constraints across a number of countries, including Nigeria to Russia. As ever, the meeting is something we're keeping a close eye on.

Concerns over potential disruption both to physical infrastructure such as pipelines from Russia, and to payment systems that keep crude, products and gas flowing from the world's largest energy exporter, continue to loom over energy markets.

The uncertainty over Russian supply remains a key driver in the gas market.

Lower demand coupled with a resurgence in Norwegian exports has seen storage withdrawals in northwest Europe ease off recently, bolstering hopes that stocks will last until the winter season ends.

However, low Russian flows are having a stronger impact on Central and East Europe due to that region's more limited supply diversification. Curve contracts meanwhile are supported by the possibility of a resumption in competition for LNG between Europe and Asia. For now, Europe's premium holds sway, with strong LNG deliveries set to sustain at least through the rest of winter, according to Platts Analytics.

In power, French nuclear availability is set to drop further towards the end of the week as two reactors go offline for delayed maintenance. Just one of nine reactors currently offline is due back over the period.

Despite this, price risk is on the downside heading into February, with temperatures above average. Wind power across Europe has had a record January, reflecting another year of strong capacity additions, especially in the Nordics and the UK.

Prices remain exceptionally high, however, with Platts Analytics assuming power demand destruction will begin to materialize this quarter as end-user bills rise and manufacturing companies struggle to absorb potential further price rises.

And that takes us to our social media question for the week: Will gas inventories last Europe through the winter? Tweet us your thoughts using the hashtag #PlattsMM.

And finally, in petrochemicals, discussions for the European ethylene contract price for February should be in full swing. Producers are expected to push for an increase given firmer upstream costs, with European naphtha prices having gained around $70 per metric ton in January.

However, the negotiations could be challenging as spot prices declined last week amid a pick-up in supply balances, helped by the resolution of some production issues and the arrival of some imports in Europe. Spot discounts to contract prices widened to 10 percent in the coastal market and 3 percent in the inland market.

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Thanks for kicking off your Monday with us and have a great week ahead!