Oil prices declined on Wednesday following a hike in U.S crude inventories which added to worries about a probable delay in solving the U.S- China trade war. Brent oil traded 1.6% lower at $60.61 a barrel. WTI crude settled 0.9% down at $55.06 a barrel.   

An oversupplied system continued to weigh on British gas prices on Wednesday, despite two outages at Serica Energy’s St Fergus gas terminal and Total E&P’s Teesside CATs gas transporting and processing site. The NBP Q1 20 delivery contract traded 0.3% to 44.95 p/therm. At the same time, the 2020 delivery contract ended 0.8% lower at 42.71 p/therm.

European spot power prices lost ground on Wednesday due to strong solar and wind generation. Weaker consumption ahead of bank holidays on Friday  also put pressure on prices. As a result, the German spot power price slumped by 11.2% to 42.63 euros/MWh. At the same time, the French day-ahead power price tumbled by 6.4% to 46.48 euros/MWh amid increased nuclear availability.

Forward electricity prices were slightly bearish on Wednesday tracking lossed in gas, coal and oil markets. The price for the German 2020-delivery power contract slipped by 0.1% to 46.90 euros/MWh, while the equivalent French contract steadied at 46.90 euros/MWh.

European carbon prices continued their rally on Wednesday  to hit a one-week peak above the €26 level. The 2022-expiry contract ended 1.9% higher at 26.76 euros/tonne.