Dutch and British wholesale gas prices edged higher on Wednesday morning as lower supply from Norway due to maintenance offset weaker demand for gas for heating amid milder weather.

The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub (TRNLTTFMc1) was up 0.23 euros at 31.73 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) or $10.80/mmBtu, by 0924 GMT, LSEG data showed.

The Dutch December contract (TRNLTTFD1) was up 0.29 euros at 31.99 euros/MWh.

The British front-month gas price (TRGBNBPD1) was up 0.59 pence at 80.22 p/per therm.

Maintenance at Norwegian gas infrastructure cut total export nominations which stood at 287 million cubic metres/day, down from 326 mcm/d on Monday, LSEG data showed.

“Any extension to this maintenance schedule would present a bullish risk,” LSEG analyst Wayne Bryan said in a daily research note.

Local distribution zone demand in Northwest Europe, which includes demand for heating, is forecast to be 54 gigawatt hours/day lower for the day ahead, LSEG data showed.

“Toward the end of the week, temperatures are expected to rise further, easing demand once again, with forecasts still showing a high probability of above-normal temperatures next week,” analysts at Engie EnergyScan said in a daily research note.

The European Union said on Tuesday it will start pooling demand from European companies to buy gas in the coming weeks, as the bloc attempts to speed up its efforts to phase out Russian energy.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract (CFI2Zc1) was up 0.36 euros at 78.65 euros a metric ton.
Source: Reuters