Crude oil futures fell on Monday, weighed down by new travel restriction measures imposed at British borders due to a new strain of coronavirus, reviving concerns over an unsteady recovery in global energy demand.

 

Hence, Brent crude dropped by 2.6% to settle at $50.91 a barrel. Meanwhile, U.S WTI crude closed at $47.97 a barrel, posting a 2.3% loss on a daily basis.

 

An unplanned outage at a gas field in Norway and signs of stronger power plant demand propelled British near-term gas prices on Monday. As a result, NBP spot jumped by 10.5% to 46.95 p/therm. Despite weaker carbon prices, the gas price for Q2 21 delivery surged by 5.4% to 40.27 p/therm.

European spot electricity prices plunged at the beginning of the week amid lower demand over the Christmas holidays and an increase in wind supply.

Consequently, the German day-ahead power plummeted by 14.9% to 27.69 EUR/MWh, while the French equivalent power contract closed at 34.55 EUR/MWh, notching a 10.5% slump day-on day.

Year-ahead power prices gained ground due to a higher demand forecast. The German Cal’21 power increased by 1.6% to 45.43 EUR/MWh, while the similar contract in France settled at 49.10 EUR/MWh, posting a 1.9% gain on a daily basis.

EUAs expiring in 2021 slipped by 0.7% to 30.89 EUR/t on Monday, dragged down by bearish financial markets amid fears about a mutating coronavirus strain.