Strong oil prices despite carbon market crash

Oil prices were very strong last week and it broke out of its recent trading range to above $113/bbl. That was due to “very good economic data” from the US, […]

Oil prices were very strong last week and it broke out of its recent trading range to above $113/bbl.

That was due to “very good economic data” from the US, Germany and China, which also resulted in seasonal gas and power contracts to end marginally high, according to Magali Hodgson, Optimisation Desk Manager at npower.

In the weekly market report, she said demand for both gas and power continued to increase due to the snow and cold temperatures and although there were some issues with North Sea supply, the system coped very well.

The carbon market continued to see losses last week, with prices at new record lows of below €4 per tonne of CO2. Coal prices, however, went up after floods in Australia capped the country’s exports.

Looking ahead, Magali suggests the change in weather forecast from the beginning of February could support power and gas contracts. She also suggests keeping an eye on carbon price as the market saw a crash last week.

For a full picture watch the Market Report video each week on ELN.

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