UK Gas-Prices inch higher on Norwegian maintenance and rising LNG prices
British wholesale gas prices rose on Tuesday morning, extending the gains from the previous session, due to heavy maintenance in Norway, although stable demand due to warm weather still kept the UK system oversupplied.
* The day-ahead contract was up 2.55 pence at 67.00 p/therm by 0823 GMT.
* Around 60 million cubic metres (mcm) per day of Norwegian capacity were unavailable due to maintenance on Tuesday, and the capacity restrictions was expected to reach a season-high of 207 mcm per day, Refinitiv analysts said.
* The UK system was almost 12 million cubic metres (mcm) over-supplied on Tuesday morning, with demand forecast at around
146 mcm/day and supply at around 158 mcm/day, National Grid data showed.
* Tuesday’s demand was still 32 mcm lower than the seasonal norm, according to Refinitiv.
* UK consumption forecasts remained stable as the country faced dry and sunny weather this week, with temperatures remaining above normal, Refinitiv analysts said.
* Rising Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices – due to stronger oil and firm demand from China and Europe – was also supportive for gas in European hubs.
* Peak wind generation is forecast at 3.5 gigawatts (GW) today, but will increase to 6 GW on Wednesday, out of total metered capacity of almost 20 GW, Elexon data showed.
* Gas demand for power generation was expected at 31 mcm per day for Wednesday, down from 34 mcm per day on Tuesday, according to Refinitiv data.
* The Dutch gas price for the next day at the TTF hub was 0.83 euro higher at 27.50 euros per megawatt hour.
* The benchmark Dec-21 EU carbon contract was 0.75 euro higher at 52.22 euros a tonne.
* The UK Dec-21 carbon contract rose 0.05 pounds to 46.50 pounds per tonne.