U.K. natural gas rose on forecasts of freezing temperatures that may further deplete storage facilities, while a pipeline resumed fuel exports to Belgium. Power prices also advanced.
Front-month gas rose as much as 0.9 pence, or 1.5 percent, to 61.7 pence a therm. It was at 61.65 pence, or $9.53 a million British thermal units, at 10:40 a.m. London time, according to broker data compiled by Bloomberg.
Temperatures in London may drop to minus 4 degrees Celsius (25 Fahrenheit) by Jan. 3 from today’s low of plus 6, according to CustomWeather Inc. data on Bloomberg. Interconnector (U.K.) Ltd., owner of a reversible natural-gas pipeline between Britain and Belgium, switched flow direction to export fuel from the U.K. The pipeline had been in import mode since Nov. 25. Interconnector announced the change on its website.
Rough, the country’s largest gas-storage facility, held 17,898 gigawatt-hours of the fuel as of yesterday, 44 percent less than a year ago, according to National Grid Plc data. Flows from Rough halted at about 1 a.m. today, grid data show, when the spot price of gas dropped below the price of gas for January, making it unprofitable to pump the fuel.
Month-ahead gas has risen 83 percent this year as freezing weather depleted underground gas stores, making Britain more reliant on imports of liquefied natural gas to meet demand. Gas for immediate delivery rose 1.35 pence, or 2.2 percent, to 62 pence a therm. Front month power rose 95 pence, or 1.8 percent, to 53.8 pounds a megawatt-hour.
Excelerate Energy LLC’s Teesside Gasport in northeast England received its first cargo in more than year, ship- tracking data show. The Expedient liquefied natural gas carrier docked at the port yesterday, according to AISLive data on Bloomberg. The ship can carry 147,994 cubic meters of LNG.
About half of Britain’s power stations use natural gas, whose price influences electricity markets. U.K. baseload power for tomorrow rose as much as 1.25 pounds to 50.5 pounds ($78.23) a megawatt-hour. National Grid predicted energy use today will peak at 51,048 megawatts, 0.5 percent higher than yesterday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Farey in London at bfarey@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss on sev@bloomberg.net
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