British and Dutch wholesale gas prices edged down on Wednesday morning, after gains the previous day, as healthy stock levels and robust liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply outweighed colder weather forecasts for next week.

The Dutch front-month contract inched down by 0.70 euro to 56.60 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0926 GMT, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

The Dutch front-month price is around 62% lower than it was on Dec. 1.

The British March contract inched down by 0.25 pence to 145.75 pence per therm, while the April contract was down 2.20 pence at 145.00 pence per therm.

Prices had closed higher on Tuesday due to a downward revision of temperatures for next week and Norwegian outages.

In Europe, average temperatures are expected to dip between 0.5-3 degrees Celsius below normal levels next week, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

“The cold episode is not expected to last more than a week at this stage, with temperatures expected to move back close to seasonal norms amid windier conditions by mid-February,” said analysts at Engie EnergyScan.

Strong LNG arrivals to Britain and solid European stocks in line with historical highs of just below 73% are expected to support market confidence, added analysts at Refinitiv.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 fell by 0.29 euros at 89.32 euros a tonne.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nina Chestney)