Oil prices have been in a volatile phase since late 2023. It waxes and wanes from week to week. This Tuesday, January 23, they resumed their upward trend. On the other hand, gas prices have fallen for several days. For their part, fuel prices in France have started to rise after a period of decline.
In international markets, fossil fuels experience different paths. This Tuesday, January 23 saw a slight rise in oil prices. Trading on Brent 80.23 US Dollars. For American West Texas Intermediate crude, it is sold 74.92 US Dollars.
So oil’s health is improving because of the cold weather that has slowed production and refining in the United States. It was also affected by continued stress on supplies in the Red Sea. Crude oil prices have increased. Markets continue to be cautious about supply disruptions in and around the Red Sea », explains, in fact, Michael Hewson, analyst CMC markets.
Gas, for its part, has not benefited from this cold snap. On the contrary, prices have been continuously collapsing in recent days. The Dutch TTF futures contract, considered the European benchmark, fell 2.93%. 27.59 euros megawatt hours (MWh), after touching 26.60 euros. It is at its lowest level in more than 6 months.
It must be said that this downward trend has been going on since the beginning of the year. On January 19, gas prices fell to 28 euros per megawatt hour (MWh). In the futures market, where transactions are settled for future delivery (from 3 months to 5 years, prices are fixed upon contract signing), the trend is also downward. 1 MWh of gas delivered in February or March 2024 costs less than 29 euros. For winter 2025, we had to position ourselves at a price of 33.5 euros/MWh, which is very close to the pre-crisis level.
Fuel prices in France have increased slightly
Even if it is not visible, the recent rise in oil prices has had an impact on fuel prices in France. Indeed, after a period of stagnation followed by a decline, diesel and gasoline are resuming their upward trend. Thus, a liter of diesel is sold for an average of 1.77 euros, Super 98 (E10) 1.89 euros and unleaded 95 (E5) 1.81 1.7742 euros per liter.
So fuel saw an increase of a few cents in a week. This is just the beginning of the new increase for the year 2024. Analysts expect that, in fact, oil prices will rise and thus fuel prices in France in 2024.
