Dutch and British gas contracts rose slightly on Wednesday morning amid thin trading ahead of a long Christmas holiday as forecasts of a cold spell are expected to boost demand.

The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub (TRNLTTFMc1) was up 0.42 euro at 28.20 euros per megawatt hour, or $9.75/mmBtu, by 1021 GMT, LSEG data showed.

The Dutch February contract (TRNLTTFMc2) was up 0.30 euros at 27.90 euros/MWh.

The British day-ahead gas contract (TRGBNBPD1) was 3.55 pence higher at 74.00 pence per therm.

“The outlook for this year’s Christmas break leans definitely on the bullish side,” said LSEG analyst Riccardo Parviero. “Both Germany and France are expected to show high levels of consumption for the period, significantly above last year’s levels, due to a steep temperature drop expected over Christmas Day and Boxing Day.”

However, strong supply from Norway and from liquefied natural gas (LNG) will offset any potential rise in demand.

EU gas storage sites were last 66.49% full, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract (CFI2Zc1) was down 0.46 euros at 88.08 euros a metric ton.
Source: Reuters