EUROPE GAS-Prices inch down on comfortable stocks, Freeport LNG

EUROPE GAS-Prices inch down on comfortable stocks, Freeport LNG

LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) – Dutch and British wholesale gas prices inched down on Monday morning on comfortable stock levels and expectations of the possible restart of the U.S. Freeport liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.

The front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub was down 0.17 euro at 31.58 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) at 0824 GMT, according to LSEG data.

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In the British market, the front-month contract was down by 1.50 pence at 73.00 pence per therm.

Lower wind speeds in north-west Europe are expected from tomorrow which should increase gas demand from power plants but German solar output is forecast to rise by around 40% by July 25 which could help balance this, LSEG data showed

French nuclear output is at 42 gigawatts and is also forecast to gradually increase by 8 GW by Aug. 14.

On the supply side, total Norwegian export nominations to continental Europe are down by 20 million cubic metres (mcm) at 233 mcm/day, mostly due to a drop through Franpipe from the North Sea to France.

A liquefied natural gas tanker was docked at the U.S. Freeport LNG terminal for the first time in almost two weeks on Friday evening, according to LSEG ship tracking data, likely signaling the resumption of exports of the superchilled gas from the second-largest LNG exporter.

“Although European LNG imports from the USA have fallen in recent weeks, total imports have remained stable because Europe was able to import additional volumes from other suppliers, who probably delivered less to some buyers (China in particular),” said analysts at Engie EnergyScan.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract was 0.78 euro lower at 65.52 euros per metric ton.

(Reporting by Nina Chestney)