Dutch and British wholesale gas prices rose on Wednesday morning as temperatures were forecast to be lower in early February and due to ongoing concerns about liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies.

The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub was up 0.85 euros at 29.80 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0955 GMT, LSEG data showed.

The March contract added 0.31 euros to 29.90 euros/MWh.

In Britain, the front-month contract was up 0.75 pence at 73.50 pence per therm, while the day-ahead contract TRGBNBPD1 was up 1.00p at 73.75 p/therm

“The forecast is looking colder than normal in a couple of weeks, while we’re seeing more risk added (to LNG supply), especially due to news about the U.S. LNG export pause,” a European gas trader said.

LNG tankers carrying Qatari gas are currently going a longer route around Africa instead of via the Suez Canal due to attacks on ships in the Red Sea, while production issues at the U.S. plant Freeport may curb supplies.

The Freeport LNG export terminal will have one of its three trains closed temporarily for maintenance. The White House, meanwhile, is pausing approvals of LNG export projects to analyse their impact on climate change, the economy and national security.

LSEG gas analyst Timothy Crump said that LNG send-out at Belgium’s Zeebrugge is down by 26 gigawatt hours per day (GWh/d) with no cargoes are expected at the terminal until Feb. 4 due to farmers blocking the roads at the port in protest about rising costs.

Meanwhile, Europe’s gas stores are currently near 71% full, the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed.

In Britain, peak wind power output in Britain is expected at 18.4 gigawatts (GW) on Wednesday and at 16.8 GW on Thursday, out of the total metered capacity of about 23 GW, Elexon data showed.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract inched up by 0.61 euros to 64.12 euros a metric ton.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Marwa Rashad, Editing by Nina Chestney)