Nord Stream 2 delay weighs on gas prices - Gasum
Risavika LNG index at 94.02 EUR/MWh and 4.3 % higher week on week. European gas prices were bullish on Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline delay, according to Gasum's release. Last week, Germany's energy regulator temporarily halted the certification process for the new pipeline that will carry Russian gas into Europe. The regulator said certification was being temporarily halted because under German law the Swiss-based consortium behind Nord Stream 2 first needed to form a German subsidiary company to secure an operating licence. According to Reuters, the suspension could delay commissioning of the infrastructure until next March.
Oil product prices were further down following the fourth consecutive week drop in crude benchmarks. Fuel oil 3.5 (FO 3.5) price was down 2.2 % to 414.60 USD/t, low sulphur oil (MFO 0.5) dropped 2.9 % to 539.74 USD/t and marine gasoil (MGO 0.1) lower by 1.8 % to 656.08 USD/t in two weeks. The combination of factors such as new European lockdowns, a potential release of Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in the US and elsewhere and economic slowdown in China are weighing on oil prices.
