Jan 12 (Reuters) - Wholesale British gas prices rose on
Wednesday morning, while Dutch prompt prices eased due to
diverging demand day-ahead demand outlooks, but a colder outlook
for next week and some profit-taking boosted prices for both
markets.
The British contract for day-ahead delivery was
up 7 pence at 1.97 pounds per therm by 1001 GMT.
The Dutch wholesale day-ahead contract was down
5.95 euros at 82.20 euros per megawatt hour (MWh).
While UK temperatures should fall below the seasonal norm on
Wednesday and adjust further on Thursday, north west Europe
should see a slight tick higher on Thursday, although still
staying 0.5 degrees Celsius below normal, analysts at Refinitiv
said.
Average temperatures in Britain were forecast to fall by
1.5C to 3.2C on Thursday while rising by 1.7 degrees to 3.9C in
north west Europe, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
Britain's gas market was forecast to be oversupplied by 3.7
mcm/day on Wednesday, data from National Grid showed.
Further out, gas prices rose.
The British February contract was up 10.80
pence at 2.01 pounds/therm. The Dutch equivalent
rose by 1.32 euros to 81.90 euros/MWh.
The rise in front-month prices was also probably supported
by participants that had bet on lower prices taking their
profits, analysts at Engie EnergyScan said in a morning note.
"But, given the downtrend in Asia JKM prices, the
rebound could be limited," they added.
Asia and Europe compete for deliveries of liquefied natural
gas (LNG) on price, with the latter seeking supplies to offset a
drop in Russian pipeline flows.
Flows of Russian gas on the Polish section of the
Yamal-Europe pipeline remain in reverse going eastward and
supplies on another pipeline route via Ukraine also consistently
low.
In other markets, the European benchmark December 2022
emission allowance (EUA) contract rose 1.55 euros to
82.85 euros a tonne.
(Reporting by Nora Buli in Oslo, Editing by Susanna Twidale)