UK GAS-Prices rise on colder weather, lower wind forecasts

Dec 21 (Reuters) - British wholesale gas prices rose on
Monday morning due to an expected rise in gas demand from power
plants amid lower wind output and colder weather forecasts.

* Gas for immediate delivery was up 2.75 pence
at
44.00 p/therm by 0945 GMT.

* The day-ahead contract was 2.25 pence higher
at
44.00 p/therm.

* Prices rose on the back of colder, less windy forecasts, a
trader said.

* Temperatures will be up to 4 degrees Celsius milder then
normal
on Tuesday but then fall below the seasonal average from
Thursday, Refinitiv data showed.

* However, the rest of December and start if January could
see
unsettled conditions with near or slightly below normal
temperatures, Refinitiv's meteorologist Georg Mueller said.

* Gas-for-power demand for Tuesday was revised up by 24 mcm
to 73
mcm per day amid a fall in wind output, Refinitiv Eikon data
showed.

* Peak wind generation is forecast at 9.9 gigawatts (GW) on
Monday, and 8.6 GW on Tuesday, Elexon data showed.

* British wind power output reached a new record of nearly
17.3 GW
last Friday, National Grid said.

* Industrial gas demand could see a rapid drop amid rising
COVID-19 infections and stricter lockdowns for some parts of
Britain announced over the weekend, Refinitiv analysts said in a
report.

* The UK gas system was oversupplied by 8.4 million cubic
metres
(mcm), with demand forecast at 266 mcm and supply at 274.4 mcm,
National Grid data showed.

* A 37 mcm/day rise in liquefied natural gas (LNG) send-out
was
partially offset by lower gas flows from Norway.

* The UK contract for January gas delivery rose
by
1.80 pence to 47.75 p/therm.

* The Dutch TTF January contract gained 0.52
euro at
16.40 euros per megawatt hour.

* The benchmark Dec-21 EU carbon contract fell by
0.45
euro to 30.65 euros per tonne.
(Reporting by Nora Buli in Oslo; editing by Nina Chestney)