British and Dutch prompt wholesale gas prices rose slightly on Tuesday morning as cold weather continued and Norwegian exports dipped.

The British day-ahead contract rose by 6.00 pence to 347 pence per therm by 0930 GMT, while the Dutch day-ahead price was up 3.00 euros at 140.00 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

The Dutch benchmark contract for January rose by 2.05 euros to 138.20 euros/MWh.

Norwegian gas flows to France are down, but French nuclear output continues to increase.

On the bullish side, the U.S. energy regulator on Monday called on the operator of the idled Freeport LNG export terminal to respond to a lengthy list of requirements, raising new hurdles to its efforts to resume operations after a June fire.

Temperatures in Britain and north-west Europe are forecast to increase towards the weekend and demand is expected to fall to seasonal normal levels at the weekend, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

UK peak wind generation is forecast at 3.8 gigawatts (GW) on Tuesday, rising to 8.9 GW on Wednesday, out of total metered capacity of 22 GW, Elexon data showed.

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

Amid largely curtailed Russian natural gas imports, weak wind conditions and a cold snap across north-west Europe, the European energy market has faced its first stress test, said Norbert Rücker, head of economics and next generation research at investment bank Julius Baer.

“The market so far weathers this test well. In France, where the outage of nuclear power has caused a supply gap, there have been no notifications to consumers or businesses to curtail electricity demand during peak morning or evening hours,” he added.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract was down 0.98 euro at 89.19 euros a tonne.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nina Chestney)