Prices trade in a tight range on softer demand, strong inventories

was up 0.17 euros at 30.95 euros per megawatt hour
(MWh), or $9.8/mmBtu, by 0904 GMT, LSEG data showed. 
The Dutch day-ahead contract <TRNLTTFD1 was up 0.14 euros at 30.82 euros/MWh. 
In the British market, the day-ahead contract 
was 0.28 pence down to 71.3 pence per therm. 
"Europe is entering peak summer with inventories fuller than usual, while steady flows of gas from Norway have returned," 
Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ bank said. 
European gas storage facilities were last seen 79.85% full, data from Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) showed. 
Analysts at Engie's Energy Scan said that a market downtrend is now clearly established. 
Temperatures across north-west Europe remain elevated but will dip into weekend before rising strongly into next week, 
LSEG data showed. 
"Summer weather in the northern hemisphere is the top factor to watch out for in the coming weeks. If prolonged heatwaves 
happen in major countries, it may break the well-balanced 
market," consultancy Rystad Energy said in a morning report. 
The market is also closely monitoring the restart of U.S. Freeport LNG production, which has protectively shut down 
operations due to Hurricane Beryl. 
LSEG analyst Wayne Bryan said that the power supply in the surrounding area is still not fully restored and Freeport is 
impacted. Freeport requires 690 megawatts of power to operate 
its liquefaction facilities. 
"There is a slight bullish risk on any negative news updates
regarding Freeport," Bryan said.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract rose by 0.10 euros to 68.03 euros per metric ton.