UK GAS-Prices dip on oversupply, stronger imports

British wholesale gas prices edged lower on Tuesday morning as higher imports of gas from Norway and weaker demand from power stations left the market over supplied.

The day-ahead contract TRGBNBPD1 was down 0.72 pence at 55.53 p/therm by 0935 GMT.

Traders said a forecast for stronger wind speeds and output from the country’s wind farms had dented gas demand.

Peak wind power generation is forecast at 2.2 gigawatts (GW) on Tuesday, rising to 5.4 GW on Wednesday, Elexon data showed.

“Our UK gas-for-power forecast is softer on the day-ahead and weekend contracts by 7 million cubic metres (mcm)/day as wind speeds pick up from recent weak levels,” analysts at Refinitiv said in a daily research note.

Imports of gas from Norway through the Langeled pipeline were at 73 mcm on Tuesday, up 6 mcm from the previous day.

Britain’s gas system was oversupplied with demand forecast at 213.1 mcm and flows at 241.4 mcm/day, National Grid data showed.

The May contract was down 0.50 p at 52.25 p/therm.

The day-ahead gas price at the Dutch TTF hub was down 0.49 euro at 21.03 per megawatt hour.

The benchmark Dec-21 EU carbon contract CFI2Zc1 was down 0.28 euro at 44.07 euros per tonne.
Source: Reuters (Reporting By Susanna Twidale; editing by Nina Chestney)