LNG vessel.
London — Prompt British wholesale gas prices rose on Friday morning as cooler temperatures led to an increase in gas demand.
* The within-day contract was up 0.80 pence at 42.00 p/therm by 0930 GMT.
* The day-ahead contract was up 1.60 pence at 42.60 p/therm.
* Traders said colder temperature forecasts than had previously been expected, combined with low output from the country’s wind farms, had boosted gas demand.
* “There is still a lot of supply though,” one trader said, adding this was keeping a lid on price gains.
* The average temperature in Britain is expected at 3.7 degrees Celsius on Friday, Eikon Refinitiv data showed, 4.2 degrees lower than previously forecast.
* “Temperatures in the UK are expected to drop below seasonal normal from today and should continue to decline over the weekend until Monday,” analysts at Refinitiv said in a daily research note.
* Peak wind power generation is forecast at 5.5 gigawatts (GW) on Friday, falling to 4.7 GW on Saturday, National Grid data showed.
* Britain’s gas market was slightly oversupplied on Friday, with demand forecast at 315.8 million cubic metres (mcm) and supply flows forecast at 319.2 mcm.
* Strong supply is expected over the next few weeks, with 13 liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers scheduled to arrive in Britain by Dec. 15.
* Further out on the curve, prices also edged higher
* The December gas contract was up 0.81 p at 41.65p/therm.
* The summer 2020 contract was up 1.25 p at 39.50 p/therm.
* The day-ahead gas price at the Dutch TTF hub was up 0.65 euro at 16.25 euros per megawatt hour.
* The benchmark Dec-19 EU carbon contract was up 0.02 euro at 25.03 euros per tonne.
