Prompt prices rise as imports from Norway fall
(Reuters) - British gas prices for immediate delivery rose on Tuesday as imports from Norway fell, although higher deliveries from the UK's continental shelf offset the impact.
Gas for immediate delivery rose 0.45 pence, or 1.58 percent, to 29.00 pence per therm by 0900 GMT, while the day-ahead contract lost 0.05 pence, or 0.17 percent, to 28.90 pence/therm.
Britain's gas system was balanced, with demand and supply forecast at 279 million cubic metres (mcm) per day on Tuesday morning, National Grid data showed.
Demand, however, was 16 percent higher than the seasonal norm.
Deliveries from Norway fell by 10 mcm/day as more gas was sent to Germany. The fall in Norwegian flows was offset by flows from the UK continental shelf rising to 140 mcm/day from 133 mcm the previous day.
Domestic supplies were expected to strengthen as maintenance at UK's Britannia gas field was expected to end on Tuesday morning.
Nominations, however, showed that the outage could last at least for one day, analysts at Thomson Reuters said. The operator of the field, ConocoPhillips, was not immediately available to comment.
Supply from UK liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals was expected to remain steady at 36 mcm/day on Tuesday, with two new tankers expected to arrive at the South Hook terminal on March 23 and March 28.
Gas demand, excluding power generation, was expected to fall due to the Easter holidays, while the latest forecasts showed slightly cooler conditions next week than previously expected.
Temperatures are expected to stay near or slightly below average throughout March 26-April 4, and the first half of April could also be cooler than normal, UK's Met Office said.
Further along the curve, the contract for gas delivery next-season was up 0.48 percent at 27.38 pence/therm.
The Dutch day-ahead gas price rose 0.1 euro/MWh, or 0.83 percent, to 12.10 euro/MWh.
In the European carbon market, front-year allowances eased 0.03 euro, or 0.61 percent, to 4.85 euro a tonne.
(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo, editing by Louise Heavens)
