• 3 minutes e-car sales collapse
  • 6 minutes America Is Exceptional in Its Political Divide
  • 11 minutes Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
  • 8 hours GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
  • 3 days Could Someone Give Me Insights on the Future of Renewable Energy?
  • 3 days How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy
  • 30 mins They pay YOU to TAKE Natural Gas
  • 7 days e-truck insanity
  • 5 days An interesting statistic about bitumens?
  • 9 days Oil Stocks, Market Direction, Bitcoin, Minerals, Gold, Silver - Technical Trading <--- Chris Vermeulen & Gareth Soloway weigh in
  • 10 days "What’s In Store For Europe In 2023?" By the CIA (aka RFE/RL as a ruse to deceive readers)
Is Copper Heading to $15,000?

Is Copper Heading to $15,000?

Copper prices reached $10,000 per…

Investors Turn Bearish on European Natural Gas Amid Eased Supply Fears

Ample inventories and muted demand so far this winter heating season have turned portfolio managers bearish on European natural gas for the first time since September and benchmark prices are now down to a four-month low.

At the end of last week, hedge funds and other money managers held a net short position in the Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures, the benchmark for Europe’s gas trading, according to data from exchanges released on Wednesday and reported by Bloomberg.

High inventories, eased fears of supply shortages, weak demand, and increased confidence that Europe could go through the winter without major supply disruptions have all led to a drop in Europe’s natural gas prices in the past two weeks. The winter premiums in the futures and options market have all but vanished in recent days.

The front-month Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures traded up by 1.9% to $38.15 (35.36 euros) per megawatt-hour (MWh) as of 12:13 p.m. GMT on Wednesday, down from highs of over $54 (50 euros) per MWh back in October, when the market was gripped by fears about Middle Eastern gas supply and prolonged maintenance at Norwegian gas fields.

This week, prices slumped on Monday due to the mild weather and higher wind power generation, which reduced demand for natural gas for heating and power generation.

The Dutch TTF contract has broken below its 200-day displaced moving average (DMA), Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, commented on Monday.

“Inventory levels remain seasonal high, and each passing day without a significant boost to demand will add further downward pressure on the price,” Hansen added.

EU storage was 90.4% full as of December 11, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Only a combination of multiple supply risks or extended cold weather periods have the potential to test the resilience of the European winter energy outlook,” Andy Sommer, team leader for fundamental analysis and modeling at Swiss trader Axpo Solutions, said in a note carried by Bloomberg.   

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:



Join the discussion | Back to homepage



Leave a comment

Leave a comment

EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News