The bulls have had another reason to push the market higher this week. On Friday, the US announced sanctions on Russian oil and gas. These sanctions appear to be the toughest yet, mostly affecting the oil markets however they have also imposed sanctions on two Russian LNG export plants and three LNG tankers. This along with reports from Russia, Ukraine attempted to attack part of the TurkStream pipeline saw European and UK gas markets increase 7% on Monday. The pipeline is now the last route for Russian gas into Europe. As the market digests the news and the EU continues to push for a ban on Russian LNG, prices are trading in the higher range. Fundamentals have also been a little tighter with revised weather forecasts, low wind generation and small outages in Norway. These small changes to fundamentals would not cause large swings in the market however with the geopolitical landscape, continued concerns around summer storage refill needs and Donald Trump’s inauguration next week, volatility is expected to continue.
