Daily (28.07.2025): Crude oil prices hit a three-week low on Friday amid economic concerns.

Crude oil prices dropped to a three-week low on Friday, pressured by weak economic signals from the U.S. and China and prospects of rising supply. U.S. capital goods orders unexpectedly fell in June, pointing to slower business spending. Moreover, U.S. plans to ease sanctions on Venezuela could boost exports by over 200,000 bpd. However, losses were capped by hopes that U.S. trade deals could support future economic growth and oil demand. Hence, Brent crude fell by 1% to $68.44 per barrel. Similarly, WTI crude lost 1.3% to $65.16 per barrel.

An unplanned outage at Norway’s Nyhamna gas plant pushed British spot gas prices higher on Friday, with the NBP spot rising by 1.3% to 78.55 p/therm.

Further along the curve, the Winter 2025 delivery contract increased by 1.2% to 90.68 p/therm, supported by ongoing storage concerns, with Germany’s Rehden site still critically low at 7.4% capacity and injections nearing their limit.

European spot power prices slumped on Friday. The German spot price dropped by 6.4% to 91.16 EUR/MWh weighed by lower weekend demand despite weaker renewable output. Meanwhile, the French spot price tumbled by 35% to 46.23 EUR/MWh amid below-average temperatures and subdued peak demand.

Forward contracts saw modest gains, supported by stronger gas and carbon markets. The German Cal-2026 contract increased by 0.4% to 85.87 EUR/MWh. Meanwhile, the French similar contract edged 0.3% higher at 62.50 EUR/MWh.

European carbon prices edged up on Friday in a low-liquidity session, supported by a slight uptick in buying that kept the market above a key technical and psychological level. As a result, EUAs expiring in Dec-2025 gained 0.7% to 71.34 EUR/tonne.