EUROPE GAS-Prices fall amid stable supply, mild temperatures

By Susanna Twidale

LONDON, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Dutch and British gas prices edged lower on Friday morning on stable supply and mild European weather that curbed gas demand.

The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub was down €2.083 at €71.855 per megawatt hour (MWh), or around $23.72 /mmBtu, by 0813 GMT, ICE data showed.

The British front-month contract was down 5.68 pence at 180.85 pence per therm.

“Temperatures remain slightly above seasonal norms across CWE (central-west Europe) but are not high enough to trigger meaningful cooling demand, while heating demand has yet to emerge,” Engie EnergyScan analysts said.

Gas supplies were strong, with Norwegian exports up by 9 million cubic metres per day at 330 mcm/d and output from LNG terminals in northwest Europe at 2,296 gigawatt hours per day, LSEG data showed.

Prices could move on any news surrounding the conflict in the Middle East. A report in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday said the US was sending more troops and carriers to the region.

“This signals that the war will not end any time soon, but rather some further escalation is in sight over the coming months,” said LSEG analyst Saku Jussila.

The conflict has curbed shipping transit through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and LNG typically passes, pressuring global gas prices.

Europe’s gas stores also remain lower than usual for the time of year. Europe’s gas storage sites are 71.5% full, Gas Infrastructure Europe data showed.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract <CFI2Zc1> was up €0.14 at €85.78 a metric ton.