Dec 13 (Reuters) - European and British wholesale gas prices
soared to fresh two-month highs on Monday morning, after renewed
concerns of a delay to Russian gas deliveries to Europe via the
contentious Nord Stream 2 pipeline and rising demand
expectations.
* The British gas contract for immediate delivery
was
up 13 pence at 2.81 pounds per therm by 0937 GMT.
* The day-ahead contract gained 19.10 pence to
2.811
pounds per therm, while the Dutch equivalent on the TTF hub
was up by 11.05 euros at 114.65 euros per megawatt
hour (MWh) - both contracts reaching their highest level since
Oct. 6.
* The European benchmark front-month TTF contract
was
up 10.85 euros at 116.20 euros/MWh.
* The British front-month gas contract was up 22 p at 2.92
pounds/therm close to a record high of 302.30 hit on Oct. 5.
* Fears concerning winter supply overshadow everything else,
said
analysts at Energi Danmark in a morning note.
* "Monday, the market is ready for further gains as the US
foreign
minister Blinken said that the startup of the [Nord Stream 2
cable is unlikely if Russia continues with their aggression
towards Ukraine," they added.
* Germany's new foreign minister also said the contentious
pipeline was not ready for certification at present.
* Europe entered the winter season with gas storages at
10-year
lows, with levels falling fast in recent weeks and no step-up in
Russian deliveries via existing routes.
* Prices are also buoyed by forecasts of cold weather and
little
wind, a trader said.
* This lifts gas demand for heating and power generation.
* Europe could expect below normal temperatures next week,
with
forecasts showing high pressure to move north-westwards,
allowing for colder air to move in from north-eastern Europe,
Refinitiv meteorologist Georg Mueller said.
* "Such patterns tend to be quite stable so that the second
half
of December will be rather cold with no signs of milder weather
returning," he added.
* The European benchmark December 2021 EUA contract
was
up 0.93 euros at 84.66 euros a tonne.
(Reporting by Nora Buli in Oslo, Editing by Susanna Twidale)