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Gas and power fell hard into Wednesday's close on hopes of a Hormuz shipping deal. Fresh Houthi tanker strikes and an Israel-Hezbollah flare-up in Lebanon have since put a floor under prices, pushing European gas higher again today.
UK Gas▼
NBP front season fell hard into Wednesday's close on Hormuz hopes
UK Power▼
Power fell in step with gas into the close
EU Storage▼
57.9% full, over 16pp below the 5yr norm
Market bias
Choppy, renewed upside risk buildingSofter · Firmer
Wednesday's Hormuz-driven fall is being clawed back by fresh Red Sea and Lebanon escalation.
UK gas Win-26
4.40p/kWh
-5.9% into Wed close
UK power Win-26
11.24p/kWh
-4.2% into Wed close
EU gas storage
57.9% full
16.6pp below 5yr norm
TTF prompt
53.90EUR/MWh
+2.9% on the day
Brent crude
79.88$/bbl
+0.5% on the day
Today's headlines
1 · GEOPOLITICSFresh Houthi tanker strikes and a flare-up between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon have reversed this week's gas market calm, reviving supply risk.
Wednesday's fall
UK gas and power both fell hard into Wednesday's close, with the Win-26 gas season down 5.9% and power down 4.2% on the day, as Iran and Oman edged towards finalising a route for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Red Sea escalation
Yemen's Houthis struck a Saudi oil tanker off Yanbu on Wednesday, the eighth vessel hit since their blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait began on 22 July, and have vowed to extend attacks further into the northern Red Sea.
Lebanon flare-up
Two Israeli soldiers were killed by an explosive device in Majdal Selem on Wednesday, prompting deadly Israeli air strikes across southern Lebanon that Israel says answer a Hezbollah ceasefire violation.
Market reaction
European gas (TTF) has turned higher again today, up around 2.9% on the day, as the fresh escalation on two fronts offsets Wednesday's Hormuz-driven optimism and keeps a floor under prices.
2 · MIDDLE EASTNetanyahu says Israeli troops will not leave Gaza until Hamas fully disarms, deepening a rift with Washington despite the deadliest strikes in weeks.
Netanyahu holds the line
Netanyahu said this week that Israeli forces will not withdraw from their current lines in Gaza until Hamas has fully disarmed, and confirmed differences with the Trump administration over the disarmament draft his government did not agree to.
Diplomatic push continues
Nikolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace's high representative for Gaza, held talks with Netanyahu this week on the disarmament deal reached with Hamas, and urged a halt to Israeli strikes.
Strikes continue regardless
Despite the plan calling for a halt to attacks, a weekend of Israeli strikes killed 28 people in Gaza, the deadliest toll in weeks, underlining how far implementation still is from the diplomacy.
3 · GENERATIONFrance has taken more nuclear reactors offline as a third major heatwave this summer strains river cooling, its worst run of outages yet.
Reactors offline
Three French reactors are currently shut for heat-driven cooling constraints: Golfech 2 (1,300MW), Bugey 3 (900MW) and Chooz 2 (1,450MW), around 3.65GW or 6% of France's nuclear fleet, with a further eight running at reduced output.
Third heat event of the summer
This is the third major heatwave to hit France's nuclear fleet since late May, with river temperatures on the Garonne, Rhone and Meuse again testing legal cooling limits; Tricastin could face further overnight cuts if temperatures stay high.
Cross-border knock-on
The lost French nuclear capacity is adding to reliance on fossil generation and imports across the interconnected grids of Germany, Switzerland and the UK, tightening the regional power balance during peak demand hours.
Forward curve & seasonal movesi
UK powerUK gas NBPmonthly forward, p/kWh · market close on 5 August 2026
5 Aug 2026
| Season | Power | Δ | Gas | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win-26 | 11.24 | -4.20% | 4.40 | -5.94% |
| Sum-27 | 7.87 | -2.22% | 2.96 | -3.00% |
| Win-27 | 8.07 | -1.10% | 2.96 | -2.53% |
| Sum-28 | 6.23 | -0.97% | 2.21 | -2.47% |
| Win-28 | 6.97 | -0.29% | 2.47 | -2.62% |
| Sum-29 | 6.17 | -0.40% | 2.03 | -2.70% |
Seasonal contracts in p/kWh, change is day on day, as of market close on 5 August 2026.
UK generation mixi
Wind10.46 GW32.6%
Solar5.79 GW18.1%
Interconnectors5.70 GW17.8%
Nuclear3.97 GW12.4%
Gas (CCGT + OCGT)2.39 GW7.5%
Biomass2.11 GW6.6%
Hydro + pumped0.10 GW0.3%
Other1.52 GW4.7%
As of 6 August 2026, 09:40 BST. Tap a fuel or a slice to isolate it, tap again to reset.
EU gas storagei
-16.6pp vs 5yr normDashed line: 90% winter target
Winter 2026/27 target is 90% of capacity by 1 December, with Commission flexibility down to 80%. As of 4 August 2026.
Other commoditiesi
TTF▼-4.42%JKM▼-1.23%Brent▲+0.11%WTI▼-0.73%UK carbon▼-0.79%EU carbon▼-0.30%FTSE 100▲+0.08%GBPUSD▲+0.13%GBPEUR▼-0.09%Gold▲+4.16%TTF▼-4.42%JKM▼-1.23%Brent▲+0.11%WTI▼-0.73%UK carbon▼-0.79%EU carbon▼-0.30%FTSE 100▲+0.08%GBPUSD▲+0.13%GBPEUR▼-0.09%Gold▲+4.16%
Other commoditiesi
TTF▼-4.42%JKM▼-1.23%Brent▲+0.11%WTI▼-0.73%UK carbon▼-0.79%EU carbon▼-0.30%FTSE 100▲+0.08%GBPUSD▲+0.13%GBPEUR▼-0.09%Gold▲+4.16%TTF▼-4.42%JKM▼-1.23%Brent▲+0.11%WTI▼-0.73%UK carbon▼-0.79%EU carbon▼-0.30%FTSE 100▲+0.08%GBPUSD▲+0.13%GBPEUR▼-0.09%Gold▲+4.16%
Global gasiTTF▼-4.42%JKM▼-1.23%
OiliBrent▲+0.11%WTI▼-0.73%
CarboniUK carbon▼-0.79%EU carbon▼-0.30%
FTSE 100i▲+0.08%
ForexiGBPUSD▲+0.13%GBPEUR▼-0.09%
Goldi▲+4.16%
Past 6 months of daily closes. As of 5 August 2026. Change shown is the latest close against the previous close.