Dutch and British gas prices were stable on Friday morning as strong wind power output and mild temperatures for the time of year curbed demand.

The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub was up 0.25 euro at 29.10 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) at 1004 GMT, LSEG data showed.

The April contract was down 0.25 euro to 29.20 euros/MWh.

In Britain, the day-ahead contract was down 1 pence at 68.50 pence per therm.

Peak wind power in Britain was forecast at 18 gigawatts (GW) on Friday and 17.1 GW on Saturday out of total metered capacity of 23 GW, data from Elexon showed.

“Supply remains robust … and should continue to provide headwinds to any price upside,” LSEG gas analyst Wayne Bryan said in a daily research note on Friday.

LSEG forecast local distribution zone gas demand, which is primarily used for heating, in Northwest Europe down 223 gigawatt hours/day (GWh/d) to 3,334 GWh/d on Monday.

Qatar, one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters, has notified several European utilities of cargo delays as ships avoid the Red Sea because of attacks from Iranian-aligned Houthi militants.

But analysts said this, and production issues at U.S. LNG company Freeport LNG, have had little impact on prices.

“Europe looks well-supplied in the interim, with potential for TTF prices to slip further,” analysts at Energy Aspects said in a research note.

“If Qatar continues supplying Europe via this longer route, it should have no bearing on TTF prices given seasonally high inventories and structurally weak demand in Europe,” they said.

Europe’s gas stores are currently 70% full, latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 was up 1.01 euros to 63.20 euros a metric ton.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nina Chestney, Editing by Mark Potter)