At 1200 London time day-ahead at the Dutch TTF trading point was at Eur19.20/MWh, 55 euro cent above its Monday closing level.
Continental European day-ahead markets opened the new trading day already slightly above Monday's settle and during the course of the morning session firmed fairly rapidly, crossing the Eur19/MWh mark.
Temperatures below seasonal normal across most of the Continent were the main factor in the rise of prompt prices Tuesday, a trader said.
In the Netherlands, temperatures are expected to hover around seasonal normal, while Germany is forecast to see temperatures drop to up to 4 degrees Celsius below seasonal normal, weather service CustomWeather showed.
The difference in temperatures between the Dutch and the German market zone has prompted a flurry of NetConnect/TTF spread trades.
"It's all up...spreads between the TTF and Germany are still very healthy and there has been quite a lot of spread trading," said a trader at midday London time. With temperatures so far below seasonal normal, Germany in particular has seen a lot of buying interest Tuesday morning, the trader added.
At 1200 London time NetConnect day-ahead was last heard traded 25 euro cent above its TTF counterpart at Eur19.45/MWh. This is 40 euro cent higher from Monday evening. At Germany's smaller hub GASPOOL day-ahead fetched Eur19.575/MWh, up 27.5 euro cent.
At France's PEG Nord gains on the day-ahead market were more modest. While the contract finished Monday at a premium to the region's trend-setting TTF hub, PEG Nord day-ahead was almost flat to its Dutch counterpart Tuesday midday when it traded at Eur19.15/MWh.
As temperatures in France are also expected to drop below normal by up to 3 degrees Celsius over the next few days, it is likely the market will see prices rise further Tuesday.
China Chemical Weekly: http://news.chemnet.com/en/detail-1411716.html
