European gas contracts reversed direction and headed higher on Friday as forecasts predicted temperatures would drop below the seasonal norm in some parts of the Continent, which lifted market sentiment.
The Dutch TTF gas for next day delivery rose to Eur24.35/MWh after closing at Eur23.90/MWh on Thursday, gaining nearly half a euro on the day.
On the German markets, contracts also matched strong gains with the NetConnect Germany day-ahead gas pegged at Eur24.65/MWh, up more than half a euro on the day, while the German GASPOOL day-ahead gas contracts were trading 40 euro cents higher at Eur24.55/MWh by Friday midday.
Forecaster CustomWeather said major European cities like London, Frankfurt and Paris are likely to experience temperatures 2 to 3 degrees Celsius below the seasonal norm from Sunday, indicating that demand for gas could increase over the weekend.
The forward curve contracts continued to follow oil prices higher, one trader said.
May ICE Brent traded 53 cents higher at $123.13 a barrel, at 1215 GMT Friday.
The TTF April gas was trading at Eur24.75/MWh, up 15 euro cents on the day, while the Cal 13 gas contracts were 25 euro cents higher from the previous close at Eur28.00/MWh.
