EUROPE GAS-Price rise on French nuclear output forecast cuts

Feb 8 (Reuters) - British and Dutch gas prices strengthened
on Tuesday morning after France's EDF lowered its nuclear output
expectations, which could lift gas-for-power demand.

The British day-ahead gas price was up 11.00
pence at 193.00 pence per therm by 1017 GMT.

The Dutch day-ahead contract at the TTF hub was
up 3.50 euros at 82.00 euros per megawatt hour (MWh).

Further out, the benchmark Dutch contract for March
rose by 4.03 euros to 81.53 euros/MWh.

News that French power producer EDF has further cut its 2022
nuclear production target were bullish for European gas prices,
as some gas-fired generation would need to help fill the gap,
traders and analysts said.

"This threatens to make electricity production in the EU
relatively more emissions-intensive, with the result that the
demand for carbon allowances will grow," said analysts at
Commerzbank.

The latest news on the Russia-Ukraine conflict offered mixed
analyst reactions.

Relatively positive statements after a meeting between
French president Emmanuel Macron and Russian president Vladimir
Putin could limit gains overall, even though Russian security
concerns had yet to be alleviated, analysts at Engie EnergyScan
said in a note.

Analysts at Energi Danmark, however, interpreted the
situation surrounding Russia as bullish, highlighting a renewed
statement from U.S. president Joe Biden that the Nord Stream 2
pipeline faced cancellation in case of a Russian invasion of
Ukraine.

Eastbound flows to Poland from Germany via the Mallnow
metering point remained eastbound on Tuesday morning, while
flows via Ukraine were down.

However, strong flows of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and
lower gas demand consumption amid rising wind speeds and milder
weather limited some of the upside risk, Refinitiv analyst Wayne
Bryan said in a morning note.

In other markets, the benchmark December 2022 carbon
contract was up by 1.36 euros at 98.06 euros per
tonne.

It set a fresh high of 98.49 euros per tonne on earlier on
Tuesday, inching closer to a landmark 100 euros a tonne.

"If you remove nuclear and replace with gas, it is bullish
carbon," a trader said.
(Reporting by Nora Buli in Oslo; editing by Nina Chestney)