Dutch and British gas prices diverged on Wednesday morning, with prompt prices lifting amid rising demand due to lower wind and cooler temperatures, but full storages continue to pressure prices further out.

The British day-ahead contract rose by 2.25 pence to 108.00 pence/therm, with the within-day contract TRGBNBPWKD rising 2.00 pence to 106 p/therm by 0952 GMT, according to LSEG data.

The Dutch day-ahead contract gained 0.95 euro to 43.45 euros per megawatt hour (MWh).

“The main change to yesterday is the upcoming spell of cooler weather and slight drop in wind generation forecasts, however this can be easily managed by brimming inventories,” LSEG analyst Wayne Bryan said in a daily research note.

Prices should remain above 100 p/therm and 40 euros/MWh respectively in the coming days, he added.

Europe’s gas storage sites were last seen 99.62% full, a record level for the time of year, according to the latest Gas Infrastructure Europe data.

In Germany, storages are 100% full and storage operators group INES said on Tuesday only extremely cold temperatures could lead to a shortage of supply.

Temperatures in northwest Europe will drop below normal from Friday until Nov. 14, according to aggregated weather data from LSEG.

Peak wind power generation in Britain was forecast at 17.5 gigawatts (GW) on Wednesday, rising to 10.2 GW on Thursday, Elexon data showed.

Further out, the Dutch front-month contract was down 0.64 euros at 45.42 euros/MWh according to ICE data.

“Once again we find ourselves trading within a range whilst a direction is sought, but with little to push the market in one direction or the other it just bobbles along a range for a while,” consultancy Auxilione said in its daily market report.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract fell by 0.17 euro to 75.08 euros a tonne.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nora Buli in Oslo, Editing by Susanna Twidale)