Dutch and British wholesale gas prices mostly edged down on Thursday morning as demand was forecast to fall due to stronger wind output and amid stable supply.

The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub edged down by 0.28 euro to 29.89 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0951 GMT, while the British day-ahead contract fell by 1.75 pence to 72.75 pence per therm, LSEG data showed.

“Gas-for-power demand looks set to go down as wind picks up and prices are basically rangebound,” a gas trader said.

In north-west Europe, demand is forecast to fall as wind generation ramps up from the day ahead and is expected to remain strong until Feb. 8, LSEG data showed.

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

Temperatures are expected to rise increase in Britain and north-west Europe over the next few days but should return to below normal levels by Feb. 11 in Britain and Feb. 13 in north-west Europe.

Meanwhile, pipeline gas supplies are stable and liquefied natural gas (LNG) send-out is slightly higher than the previous day.

Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden paused pending approvals of exports from new LNG projects which could delay decisions on new plants until after the Nov. 5 election.

Traders said the impact on European LNG supply was likely to be minimal in the short term as the move would not affect plants already approved.

Only four projects with export approvals pending at the Department of Energy (DOE) would be affected by the pause, an administration official said without naming them. The projects could include ones by Sempra Infrastructure, Commonwealth LNG, and Energy Transfer ET.N, the DOE’s website showed.

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote next month on a measure to overturn the moratorium on approvals, Bloomberg reported, citing a Republican lawmaker.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 was 0.18 euro lower at 63.98 euros a tonne.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nina Chestney)