UK GAS-Prices hold steady on colder weather, low wind output

March 2 (Reuters) - British wholesale gas prices were little
changed on Tuesday morning, as forecasts confirmed an outlook
for colder weather and low wind which lifted contracts by around
5% on Monday.

* The within-day contract was down 0.10 pence
at
44.00 p/therm by 0950 GMT.

* The day-ahead contract was up 0.15 p at 43.75
p/therm.

* Latest forecasts confirmed below seasonal normal
temperatures
for the rest of the month, including a colder spell at the
weekend and colder than previously expected temperatures towards
the end of March, analysts at Refinitiv said in a morning
research note.

* Weak wind power generation in Britain should also spur
stronger
gas-for-power demand this week, they added.

* However, most of this expectation had been priced in on
Monday
already, another analyst said.

* Peak wind power generation is forecast at 2.1 gigawatts
(GW) on
Tuesday, falling to 1.4 GW on Wednesday, Elexon data showed, out
of total metered capacity of around 18 GW.

* Gas-for-power demand should reach 87 million cubic metres
(mcm)
on Wednesday, up 4 mcm/day from a previous forecast, Refinitiv
data showed.

* More than 5 GW of UK nuclear capacity is also currently
offline,
out of a total capacity of 9 GW, and National Grid warned of a
tight power system this week.

* A busy arrival schedule of liquefied natural gas (LNG)
tankers
provided some downside risk to prices, however, Refinitiv
analysts said.

* The April contract was down 0.10 p at 40.80
p/therm.

* The day-ahead gas price at the Dutch TTF hub
was
down 0.12 euro at 16.23 euros per megawatt hour.

* The benchmark Dec-21 EU carbon contract was up
0.38
euro at 37.51 euros per tonne.
(Reporting by Nora Buli in Oslo; editing by Nina Chestney)