UK GAS-Prices fall on higher Norwegian supply

LONDON: British wholesale gas prices dropped on Thursday, pressured by a sharp increase in flows from Norway.

The day-ahead contract was down 0.25 pence at 13.00 pence/therm by 0815 GMT.

The weekend contract fell by 0.05 pence to 12.75 pence/therm.

UK gas system was 18.9 million cubic metres (mcm) oversupplied, with demand forecast at 151.2 mcm and supply at 170.1 mcm, National Grid data showed.

The oversupply is due to strong gas flows from Norway and weak demand.

Total deliveries to Britain from Norway increased by 18 mcm day on day to 60 mcm on Thursday, Gassco data showed.

Gas-for-power demand was forecast to drop to 34 mcm on Friday from 46 mcm the previous day, Refinitiv data showed.

The drop is forecast due to rising power generation from wind farms on Friday.

Peak wind generation was forecast to grow to 9.3 gigawatts (GW) on Friday from 5 GW on Thursday, Elexon data showed.

"Extremely weak gas demand together with potential higher Norwegian gas flows might continue to weigh on price today," Refinitiv analysts said in a morning note.

The August contract was down 0.10 pence at 13.70 pence/therm.

The day-ahead gas price at the Dutch TTF hub was up 0.02 euro at 4.95 euros per megawatt hour.

The benchmark Dec-20 EU carbon contract was down 0.44 at euro at 25.75 euros per tonne.