2024-12-11 14:58:26 :
Dec 11 (Reuters) – Wholesale natural gas prices in the Netherlands and Britain edged higher on Wednesday morning as an ongoing cold snap and low winds supported demand, while unexpected power outages restricted some supply in Norway.
The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF Center was up 0.15 euros at 45.70 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), or $14.08/mmbtu, as of 0911 GMT.
The Dutch day-ahead contract rose 0.30 euros to 45.80 euros/MWh.
In the UK, the day-ahead contract rose 0.55 pence to 113.25 pence per thousand litres.
London Stock Exchange analyst Wayne Bryan said: “Our outlook today is that there may be a bit of downward pressure on prices, but given the coming cold snap and the need to remain competitive with Asia in terms of spot LNG, prices It won’t go down too much.”
He added that temperatures are expected to remain below normal for the remaining five days until December 24, except December 15 to 20.
The lull in wind power has also increased demand for natural gas for power generation.
Elexon data shows peak UK wind power generation will fall from 5.7 gigawatts (GW) on Wednesday to 3.2 GW on Thursday.
Analysts said unexpected production disruptions in Norway put some upward pressure on prices.
Data from infrastructure operator Gassco showed that compressor failures at the Kolsnes processing plant and Asgard field have reduced Norwegian supply by 17.6 million cubic meters per day until early next week.
Natural gas flows from Russia to Europe remain stable. Russian supplier Gazprom said it would send 42.4 cubic meters of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Wednesday, the same amount as Tuesday.
However, forecasts of mild weather in the second half of December and rising wind power production in Germany starting next week could put some pressure on prices, Engie EnergyScan analysts said in a morning note.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract rose 1.04 euros to 69.22 euros per ton.
(Reporting by Nora Brioslo. Editing by Mark Porter)
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