Dutch and British wholesale gas prices dipped on Wednesday morning as temperatures turned warmer and stronger wind output curbed demand for gas.

The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub was down 0.70 euro at 46.20 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), or $14.23/mmbtu, by 0925 GMT.

The Dutch-day ahead contract slipped 0.60 euros to 46.00 euros/MWh.

In Britain, the front-month contract fell by 1.80 pence to 115.87 p/therm.

“Several factors point to a bearish direction: Warmer and windier revisions to weather forecasts and solid nominations from French (LNG) terminals for November are the more direct fundamental drivers,” LSEG analyst Ulrich Weber said in a daily research note.

Weber said average temperatures in north-west Europe are around 2 degrees Celsius above seasonal norms for the day-ahead.

Peak wind power in Britain is forecast at 8.1 gigawatts (GW) on Wednesday, rising to 12.6 GW on Thursday, Elexon data showed.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Gazprom is making the assumption that no more gas will flow to Europe via Ukraine after Dec. 31 in its internal planning for 2025.

“This is already widely accepted by the market as the current deal expires at the end of December and whilst Russia are keen to extend it, Ukraine have stated for a long time now they have no intention of doing so,” consultancy Auxilione said in a daily market note.

Russia’s Gazprom said it would send 42.4 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Wednesday, a volume in line with recent days.

In the European carbon market CFI2Zc1, the benchmark contract was down 1.1 euro at 68.13 euros a metric ton.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Susanna Twidale; editing by Nina Chestney)