Friday 21st August

Power and gas prices closed higher yesterday as optimism around a potential deal and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz continued to fade. President Trump promised severe economic pressure and the isolation of Iran, referring to the measures as “Economic D-Day”, while also threatening countries that continue to trade with Iran. Meanwhile, cooler weather across Europe helped ease heat related restrictions on French nuclear generation, with total curtailments falling to 6.7GW.

Oil continued to rally throughout yesterday's session, reaching a three-week high as ongoing tensions in the Middle East weighed on market sentiment. The US has threatened further economic measures against Iran and countries perceived to be supporting Iran. Iran responded by stating that such actions would only lead to further setbacks for the US. These developments reinforced expectations that geopolitical tensions will persist, providing continued support for oil prices. Interestingly, US bond yields rose yesterday despite the proposed increase in liquidity as markets remained unconvinced that these support measures would provide lasting relief. The rise in yields weighed on equities, leaving major US indices lower on the day.

NBP (p/therm)

UK Base (£/MWh)

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Day on Day

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Day on Day

Sep-26

161.33

4.91

127.41

1.29

Oct-26

162.00

4.61

127.93

2.77

Nov-26

165.04

4.61

138.28

2.62

Q4-26

164.68

4.6

134.30

2.63

Q1-27

160.78

4.87

132.90

3.18

Q2-27

108.63

4.14

91.78

2.78

Win-26

162.74

4.73

133.54

2.83

Sum-27

105.00

4.11

89.15

2.72

Win-27

102.87

3.48

90.44

1.88

Sum-28

73.37

1.87

66.67

0.67

Win-28

79.27

0.78

74.46

0.83