Dutch and British wholesale gas prices rose on Friday, with cold weather forecast over the weekend in Britain and across Europe expected to raise demand for heating, while tensions in the Middle East kept the market on edge.

The Dutch November gas contract TRNLTTFMc1 rose by 1.50 euros to 52.50 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0858 GMT, according to LSEG data. The Dutch day-ahead contract TRNLTTFD1 was up 1.35 euros at 46.00 euros/MWh.

In the British market, the weekend contract TRGBNBPWE rose by 3.00 pence to 111.00 pence per therm.

“We still see strong supply levels with an undertone of fear around global events keeping the market on edge. (In addition) the latest long-term weather runs show temperatures just below seasonal normal throughout November,” consultancy Auxilione said in a morning note.

LSEG analyst Tomasz Marcin Kowalski said the bullish factor driving the price of the TTF DA contract is the slightly cooler weather forecast for the weekend, which is expected to increase heating consumption by 470 gigawatt hours per day (GWh/day).

Temperatures in the UK are also expected to plummet over the weekend, and demand for heating is set to increase by a combined 52 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) on the day ahead.
Supply concerns also rose after a tanker seeking to fill up liquefied natural gas (LNG) at a terminal in Egypt left empty and diverted to another port, after an Israeli pipeline supplying gas was halted due to Israel-Hamas conflict.

Peak wind power generation in Britain is forecast to fall from 18.4 gigawatts (GW) on Friday to 14 GW on Saturday, out of total metered capacity of 23.1 GW, Elexon data showed.

European gas storages were last seen 98.1% full, a historic high for the time of year, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 fell by 0.16 euro to 81.60 euros a tonne.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Varun H K)