In this week's Market Movers Europe with Mohammed Al-Ansare:
- Russia, Red Sea attacks support oil prices
- European gas set to enter summer season
- Nordic power zonal futures launch March 25
Recent attacks on Russian refineries and Red Sea shipping have heightened geopolitical tensions, contributing to a bullish sentiment in oil prices this week.
Shipowners’ association BIMCO reports that transits through the Suez Canal are down 50% year on year due to recent Houthi attacks.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks have led to the temporary shutdown of more than 600,000 b/d of Russian refining capacity, with Russian authorities implementing contingency plans, including delays to refinery turnarounds.
The state of European gas storage will be key to market fundamentals this week, as the market prepares to move from the current ‘gas winter’ to the ‘gas summer’ on April 1.
With storage sites across the EU still 59% full and withdrawals coming to an end, the rate of injection will be a key metric through the summer.
In power, traders are focusing on today’s launch of zonal futures in the Nordics, with the new offering by the EEX exchange giving forward pricing signals for all 12 bidding zones.
Liquidity in this market has declined, while spreads between price zones have widened, particularly between north and south in Sweden and Norway.
I’m Mohammed Al-Ansare, thank you for kicking off your Monday with S&P Global Commodity Insights.