Opus Energy
Energy market summary
February - May 2010
After a fairly stable start to the period, which was reflected by Brent oil, volatility returned to the curve by the start of April with a sharp increase in prices throughout the month which finally lost its momentum by the start of April.
Comments from the last 3 months
A - Falling gas prices and lower demand combines with increased supply to force down the curve.
B - Winter 10/11 sees huge gains with a rise of £2.40/MWh day on day, a seasonal change which hasn’t been seen for over a year. The rises were mainly driven by strong price increases in gas, coal and carbon however the problems were made worse by the closure of the Elgin-Franklin gas fields in the North Sea. The increases continued for the remainder of April driven by continued gains in gas and oil.
C - Fluctuating prices seem to be the order of the month with gas driving prices up one day and a combination of weaker gas, coal and carbon along with returning plant acting to drag down the curve the next. Gas remains the biggest driver behind market movement, however coal has more than tried to compete for this title for a while now.