Snapshot - 01 April 2026
Wholesale energy markets softened on Wednesday morning as diplomatic signals raised hopes that the Iran conflict could be approaching its end. Gas prices fell sharply across the curve, with NBP day-ahead indicated around 123 p/therm and front-season Win-26 gas down more than 7 per cent. Oil also retreated, with Brent falling around 3 per cent this morning as the prospect of a reopened Strait of Hormuz eased supply concerns.
Power followed gas lower, though a steep drop in UK wind generation on Tuesday - down nearly 56 per cent - limited the prompt move and drove a significant increase in gas-fired output. The front month May-26 baseload is indicated around £93/MWh. Nuclear availability is under pressure as a new planned outage at Heysham joined existing unplanned losses, though the market remains focused squarely on the geopolitical narrative for near-term direction.
European gas storage closed the winter at around 28 per cent full, roughly 5.5 percentage points below last year, meaning the injection season starts from a lower base. Carbon was mixed, with EUAs steady and UKAs jumping over £3 per tonne. Looking ahead, cooler weather around mid-April could lend some price support, but the dominant driver remains the trajectory of the Iran situation and the pace at which risk premium continues to unwind.
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