In the second week of October, Brent oil futures for the Front Month in the ICE market peaked at a settlement price of $80.93 per barrel on Monday, October 7, marking the highest price since August 27. Following this peak, prices saw a decline, reaching a weekly low of $76.58 per barrel on October 9. However, in the final two sessions of the week, prices rebounded, with a settlement of $79.04 per barrel on Friday, October 11, reflecting a 1.3% increase from the previous Friday. The average settlement price for the week of October 7 was up 4.9% compared to the prior week.
Supply concerns stemming from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the impacts of Hurricane Milton in the U.S. contributed to upward pressure on Brent oil prices. Conversely, increased production in Libya and worries about demand trends led to price declines in certain sessions. Notably, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) revised its demand growth forecasts for 2025 downward on October 8.
In the TTF gas futures market on the ICE, prices started at €40.24 per MWh on October 7, down 1.8% from the last session of the previous week. Prices continued to drop, hitting a weekly low of €38.34 per MWh on October 9. A rebound followed, with prices rising 5.1% to reach a weekly high of €40.29 per MWh on October 10, marking the third-highest price for 2024 so far. By Friday, October 11, prices had fallen again to €39.88 per MWh, a decrease of 2.7% from the previous Friday. The average settlement price for the week was slightly lower, down 0.1% compared to the prior week. Ongoing supply concerns, particularly regarding potential liquefied natural gas shortages from Qatar due to the Middle East conflict, contributed to the price fluctuations, despite high reserve levels in Europe.
Meanwhile, CO2 emission allowance futures in the EEX market for the December 2024 reference contract experienced a downward trend at the start of the week. On Tuesday, October 8, they hit a weekly low of €60.29 per ton, the lowest since April 5. However, by Thursday, prices rebounded to a weekly high of €65.00 per ton. On Friday, the settlement price was €64.62 per ton, up 4.1% from the previous Friday. Despite these gains, the average settlement price for the week was 0.9% lower than the prior week, AleaSoft reports.
