RTRS:UK gas curve rises as oil climbs on OPEC inaction
* Gas demand falls 14 percent below seasonal norms
* Rasheeda, Al Khattiya LNG tankers due in UK
* UK goes ahead with steep solar tariff cuts
LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - British long-term gas prices rose
on Thursday on the back of a firmer oil market following OPEC's
failure to decide on a rise in output, traders said.
British winter 2011/12 gas prices rose to a one-week high at
71.90 pence per therm, up 0.15 pence from the previous session.
"OPEC's inability to agree to a production increase sent
Brent prices higher yesterday, which had helped push gas prices
marginally higher," one UK gas trader at a utility said.
Summer 2012 gas also rose, trading at a two-month high of
66.20 pence, according to broker figures.
UK gas prices are indirectly affected by oil prices because
stronger oil means that continental European gas suppliers may
buy more gas in the UK over coming months as their oil-indexed
supplies rise in price.
Traders said gains on the curve also translated into higher
prices on the prompt, which lacked direction from underlying
fundamentals.
The market was well supplied on Thursday, while demand
levels rose slightly on the back of a drop in temperatures.
Demand was pegged 14 percent below seasonal norms, compared
with a 16 percent drop in the previous session.
Gas prices for delivery on Friday rose 0.25 pence to 59.20
pence, while Thursday gas traded just below that level at 59.15
pence.
The outlook for liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply to
Britain over the coming weeks also improved with the
announcement of the arrival of the Rasheeda tanker at South Hook
on June 16 and the Al Khattiya on June 22. [LNG/TKUK]
July gas was steady on Wednesday's trading levels at 58.45
pence ($9.60 per mmeBtu).
In Britain's over-the-counter power market, contracts rose
on the back of extremely low wind power production forecasts.
Baseload power for day-ahead delivery rose to 51.65 pounds
per megawatt-hour (MWh), up 45 pence from the previous session.
National Grid data showed wind power production on Friday
was expected to be lower than 100 MW at peak time.
Friday power usually falls as demand drops in line with
large consumers shutting down factories early ahead of the
weekend.
In other news, the UK government on Thursday pushed through
steep cuts to incentives for large-scale solar power projects in
a bid to keep vast plants from scooping up subsidies meant for
small-scale community and housing projects, the government said.
[ID:nLDE7580PT]
(Reporting by Karolin Schaps, editing by Anthony Barker)
