British and Dutch prompt wholesale gas prices were down on Wednesday morning on a milder weather outlook, healthy storage levels and strong liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows.

The Dutch front-month contract was down 6.04 euros at 76.86 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0915 GMT, while the contract for February delivery fell by 6.05 euros to 79.75 euros/MWh, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

The British contract for next-day delivery was down 10.00 pence at 145.00 pence per therm, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

Weather across Europe and Britain is expected to be milder than normal through the first half of January, according to Refinitiv meteorologist Georg Muller, who added that a change in the large-scale weather pattern towards a colder setup is not likely before mid-January.

Europe’s gas storage sites were 83.2% full overall, with the region’s biggest consumer Germany seeing filling levels of 88.2%, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data.

Strong LNG flows were another factor sending prices down, with the tanker arrival schedule for Britain and north-west Europe busy for the coming weeks.

In the UK, the system was 2.5 million cubic metres (mcm) over-supplied, according to National Grid data.

UK peak wind generation is forecast at 15.2 gigawatts (GW) on Wednesday, rising to 17.6 GW on Thursday, out of total metered capacity of 22 GW, Elexon data showed.

Stronger wind output typically reduces demand for gas from power plants.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 was down 0.39 euro at 87.91 euros a tonne.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Nina Chestney)