UK GAS-Prices fall as storm Dennis boosts wind power

• The within-day contract was down 0.80 pence at 20.70 p/therm by 0858 GMT.
• The March gas price at the Dutch TTF hub was down 0.07 euro at 8.68 euros per megawatt hour (MWh).

LONDON: Prompt British wholesale gas prices fell early on Friday as Storm Dennis was forecast to bring strong winds and boost output from the country's wind farms.

The within-day contract was down 0.80 pence at 20.70 p/therm by 0858 GMT.

The day-ahead contract was down 0.70 pence at 20.50 p/therm.

Traders said high winds had cut demand from gas-fired power stations, while temperature forecasts had also been revised slightly higher, curbing gas demand for heating.

Peak wind power generation is forecast at 13.4 gigawatts (GW) on Friday and 14 GW on Saturday Elexon data showed.

Analysts at Refinitiv forecast demand for gas from power stations at 44 million cubic metres (mcm) on Friday and 33 mcm for Monday, down 18 mcm and 12 mcm respectively on previous forecasts.

Average temperatures in Britain were forecast at 5.9 degrees Celsius on Friday and 6.7 degrees on Saturday, up 0.3 degrees and 0.8 degrees respectively on previous forecasts, Refinitiv data showed.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices have fallen to record lows this month as traders have rushed to find alternative destinations for tankers with Chinese buyers rejecting shipments because of the coronavirus epidemic.

Weak prices in Asia could see more LNG diverted to Europe, pressuring prices.

"Higher-than-expected March LNG supply into Europe would slow storage withdrawals, curbing summer injection demand and weighing on TTF (Dutch gas) contracts extending though summer 2020," analysts at Energy Aspects said in a research note.

The March gas price at the Dutch TTF hub was down 0.07 euro at 8.68 euros per megawatt hour (MWh).

The Dutch day-ahead price was down 0.27 euro at 8.73 euros per MWh.

The benchmark Dec-20 EU carbon contract was down 0.09 euro at 24.31 euros per tonne.