Prices edge higher on lower supply

LONDON, April 30 - Dutch and British wholesale gas prices edged higher on Tuesday morning as falling demand due to warmer temperatures was offset by lower liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply and curbed flows of gas from Norway due to maintenance.

The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub was up 0.55 euros at 28.70 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 0825 GMT, LSEG data showed.

The June contract rose by 0.45 euros to 28.70 euros/MWh.

Total north-west Europe LNG send-out was expected at 1,768 gigawatt hours/day (GWh/d) on Tuesday compared with 2,096 GWh/d on Monday, analysts at LSEG said.

Meanwhile, ongoing outages at Norwegian infrastructure, including the Nyhamna and Karsto gas processing plants, have led to lower exports from the country.

In the British market, the day-ahead contract was up 0.20 pence at 71 pence per therm.

“There are only two LNG cargoes expected into the UK at South Hook in the next two weeks ... Norwegian flows also drop with Langeled decreasing by another 10 million cubic metres/day on yesterday,” LSEG analyst Tim Crump said in a daily research note.

In Britain, prices were also buoyed by stronger gas demand from the power sector with wind power output expected to drop.

Peak wind power output in Britain was forecast at 12.2 gigawatts (GW) on Tuesday, falling to 6.3 GW on Wednesday.

On Monday Energy ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies reached a deal to shut down their coal-fired power plants in the first half of the 2030s and said there were still discussions over potential restrictions to Russian imports of liquefied natural gas to Europe.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract was up 1.63 euro at 67.12 euros per metric ton. (Reporting By Susanna Twidale; editing by Nina Chestney)