UK GAS-Prices rise on stronger demand, undersupply

LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - British wholesale gas prices
rose on Monday morning as an increase in demand for gas for
heating and power left the system undersupplied.

* The within-day contract was up 1.80 pence at
43.00
p/therm by 0925 GMT.

* The day-ahead contract was up 1.50 p at 42.75
p/therm.

* Traders said forecasts of lower output from the country’s
wind
farms has lifted demand from gas-fired power plants while
temperatures had also turned cooler following an unseasonably
warm spell.

* Peak wind power generation is forecast at 2.4 gigawatts
(GW) on
Monday, falling to 2 GW on Tuesday, Elexon data showed.

* Analysts at Refinitiv forecast demand for gas-for-power at
78
million cubic metres (mcm) for Monday and 95 mcm for Tuesday.

* The forecasts were 5 mcm and 9 mcm higher respectively
than
previous expectations.

* “Temperatures both in the UK and in NWE (Northwest Europe)
are
expected around seasonal normal in the first days of March after
the mild weather observed during the last week of February,”
analysts at Refinitiv said in a daily research note.

* Over 5 GW of UK nuclear capacity is also currently offline
out
of a total capacity of 9 GW.

* Britain’s gas system was undersupplied by 13.6 mcm, with
demand
forecast at 302.4 mcm and flows at 288.8 mcm/day, National Grid
data showed.

* The April contract was up 1.30 p at 40.70
p/therm.

* The day-ahead gas price at the Dutch TTF hub
was up
0.50 euro at 16.30 euros per megawatt hour.

* The benchmark Dec-21 EU carbon contract was up
0.62
euro at 37.90 euros per tonne.
(Reporting By Susanna Twidale; editing by Nina Chestney)