Snapshot - 16 September 2026
Wholesale energy markets stepped back on Tuesday, unwinding some of the risk premium that has built up over the past fortnight. Improved Norwegian supply and a softer near-term demand outlook allowed both gas and power contracts to give ground, with winter gas retreating by around 3 per cent and the equivalent power contract falling by a similar margin. The whole Q4 and Q1 complex moved lower together, leaving winter gas hovering just above the 200 p/therm mark that has framed trading all week.
The relief may prove short-lived. Norwegian deliveries into the UK have fallen sharply this morning as fresh outages at two major facilities take effect, cutting arrivals by more than a third from Tuesday's level. Storage remains the central problem: European inventories are running well behind where they need to be for a comfortable winter, and the UK position is weaker still. Day-ahead power moved against the wider trend and rose on the day, as wind output is set to fall by almost a third, though a run of Atlantic weather systems from Thursday should push generation back up sharply into the weekend.
Across the wider complex, crude has been the dominant force, with Brent up more than 10 per cent on the week after the shutdown of a major Saudi export pipeline and continued disruption to Gulf shipping. Prices eased slightly overnight on signs that replacement barrels are being found. Carbon fell in sympathy with the energy complex, with both EU and UK allowances down close to 3 per cent, while coal was broadly flat and sterling gave no meaningful signal.
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