Dutch and British wholesale gas prices fell on Friday morning as forecasts for above-normal temperatures and strong renewable power output curbed demand.

The contract for January at the Dutch TTF hub fell by 0.51 euro to 34.05 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh) by 1025 GMT, LSEG data showed.

The contract for February TRNLTTFMc2 fell by 1.15 euros to 34.35 euros/MWh.

In Britain, the day-ahead price TRGBNBPWKD slipped by 2.75 p to trade at 81.00 p/therm, LSEG data showed.

“With temperatures expected to remain above normal in most European countries next week and renewable generation to increase, prices should remain under downward pressure,” analysts at Engie EnergyScan said in a daily research note.

European gas supply remains strong amid healthy pipeline flows from Norway and stable supplies of gas from Russia via Ukraine.

Russian energy giant Gazprom GAZP.MM said it would ship 42.4 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Friday, the same volume as the previous day.

Europe’s gas stores also remain high and are currently almost 90% full latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed.

“Additionally, the wind speeds are picking up significantly. Thus we expect strong wind power generation for Monday,” LSEG analyst Saku Jussila said about the British market in a daily research note.

In Britain, peak wind power generation was forecast at 15.3 gigawatts (GW) on Friday, rising to 17.8 GW on Saturday, out of the total metered capacity of about 23 GW, Elexon data showed.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 increased by 0.05 euro to 66.85 euros a metric ton.
Source: Reuters (Reporting By Susanna Twidale; Editing by Tasim Zahid)