During the third week of February, Brent oil futures for the Front Month on the ICE market followed a mostly upward trajectory. On Tuesday, February 17, prices dipped to their weekly minimum settlement of $67.42/bbl. However, continued gains throughout the week pushed futures to a weekly high of $71.76/bbl on Friday, February 20. According to data analyzed by AleaSoft Energy Forecasting, this represented a 5.9% increase compared to the previous Friday and marked the highest level since July 31, 2025.
Growing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East provided upward support for Brent prices during the week. At the same time, expectations related to a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran, potential peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and the possibility of OPEC+ resuming production increases in April contributed to the temporary decline observed on Tuesday. As negotiations showed little progress and tensions persisted, prices resumed their upward movement in the latter half of the week.
Meanwhile, TTF gas futures for the Front Month on the ICE market reached their weekly minimum settlement price of €29.82/MWh on Tuesday, February 17, the lowest level since January 10. In subsequent sessions, prices climbed above €31/MWh, peaking at €33.52/MWh on Thursday, February 19. On Friday, February 20, the settlement price eased to €32.03/MWh, standing 1.4% below the previous Friday’s level.
Milder temperature forecasts in Europe and higher temperatures in the United States, which boosted LNG availability for export, initially pushed gas prices below the previous week’s levels, briefly dropping under €30/MWh. However, renewed concerns about potential supply disruptions linked to rising tensions between the United States and Iran supported price increases in the second half of the week, although Friday’s level remained slightly below that of the previous week.
As for CO₂ emission allowance futures on the EEX market for the December 2026 reference contract, prices reached their weekly minimum settlement of €69.16/t on Monday, February 16, marking the lowest level since May 2, 2025. Over the remainder of the week, prices remained above €70/t and increased in most sessions. By Friday, February 20, futures climbed to a weekly maximum of €73.79/t, representing a 4.4% increase compared to the previous Friday, AleaSoft reports.
