British and Dutch wholesale gas prices were mixed on Wednesday morning, with prompt prices up on expectations of strong demand from gas-fired power plants and high stock levels pressuring contracts further out on the curve.
The British day-ahead contract was up 17.50 pence at 47.50 /therm by 0856 GMT, while the within-day price rose by 7.75 p to 44 p/therm.
British peak wind power generation is forecast at 16.6 gigawatts (GW) on Wednesday, falling to 13.3 GW on Thursday.
Lower wind power often means there is more demand for gas from power plants.
Gas demand from power stations was forecast at 65 million cubic /day (mcm) on Thursday, up from demand of 49 mcm on Wednesday, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
Despite Wednesday’s gains, prompt prices have fallen around 75% since the start of October, with unseasonably mild weather in Britain and Europe curbing demand.
The benchmark Dutch November contract edged up by 1.30 euros to 101.50 /MWh, while the British November contract fell by 0.50 p to 187.00 p/therm.
“The fact that the benchmark (next-month) price in Britain and across the continent has not fallen to the lows of the next-day price indicates this return to ‘normal’ pricing is a short-term development,” said Tom Marzec-Manser, head of gas analytics at ICIS.
The British January gas price fell by 3.00 p to /therm and the Dutch January gas price was down 1.98 euros at 138.00 /MWh.
Europe’s stock levels were almost 94% full, data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract was down 0.43 euros at 76.68 euros a tonne.
