European natural gas and power prices plunged the most in months after Germany said its stores of the fossil fuel are filling up faster than planned.
“All market participants are to some extent stunned about the fast development we have seen the last few trading days,” said Bo Palmgren, chief operating officer at MFT Energy, a Danish trader in Aarhus. “We hope that we will soon see more market liquidity and stable prices.” Habeck has soothed the market somewhat, but the focus will switch to whether flows resume on the Nord Stream pipeline into Germany from Russia after maintenance later in the week. Lower temperatures seen across Eastern Europe, and parts of the Iberian peninsular next week will also help nations to conserve gas as less energy will be needed for cooling.
Engie SA’s EnergyScan unit said on Monday that prices are probably also dropping on profit taking. Prices gained for six consecutive weeks through Friday.