Snapshot - 30 June 2026
UK and European energy prices firmed sharply at the start of the week before the move split by contract. UK day-ahead power settled near £124 per megawatt hour on a low-wind, high-heat day with limited nuclear cover, a notable summer spike that was already easing back toward £104 by Tuesday morning as wind picked up. Front gas and the winter season led the rally, with Winter-26 NBP firming to around 109 pence per therm, while contracts further out softened.
Gas drew its support from a depleted storage position and a geopolitical risk premium rather than any physical shortage. European inventories sit near 48 per cent full, well below seasonal norms and roughly ten per cent under last year, keeping a heavy summer refill task in view. Norwegian flows and LNG send-out stayed healthy, and recovering wind trimmed near-term gas-for-power demand, capping the prompt after Monday's jump.
Across the wider complex, crude firmed on the day but eased on the week, with Brent around $73 per barrel as oil and gas continued to trade apart. Carbon slipped, with the EU allowance down to about €79 per tonne and the UK scheme near £56 per tonne. The balance of risk now turns on weather, French nuclear recovery and whether the fragile US-Iran ceasefire holds.
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