December – a story of two halves

December was a story of two halves. It was a bearish start to the month with mild temperatures, strong wind generation and progress on peace deals stabilising the market. From mid-December onwards, winter risk began to play a role. Forecasts of below average temperatures over the Christmas period paired with lower wind generation led to an uplift in the markets, responding to an increase in gas-for-power demand across the UK and Europe. A Norwegian supply outage added further pressure but was balanced quickly by robust LNG supply.