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U.K. Gas Falls as Link to Belgium Flips to Imports; Power Rises
2010-11-25 09:47:10.17 GMT
By Ben Farey
Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural gas fell after the link
from Britain to Belgium reverted to U.K. imports potentially
boosting supply as cold weather raised demand for heating.
Gas for December retreated from a 21-month high reached on
Nov. 22, according to broker data compiled by Bloomberg. The
contract dropped as much as 0.9 pence, or 1.7 percent, to 51.75
pence a therm. It was at 51.8 pence at 9:30 a.m. in London.
That's equal to $8.17 a million British thermal units. A therm
is 100,000 Btus.
Gas is used to heat about 80 percent of the country's homes
and businesses.
Interconnector (U.K.) Ltd., owner of the reversible natural
gas pipeline between Britain and Belgium, switched flow
direction to U.K. imports. The pipeline last imported the fuel
into Britain on March 11. Imports may reach 4 million cubic
meters today, according to the company.
Flows from Norway through the Langeled pipeline and from
underground storage increased, grid data show.
The first-quarter contract fell 1.7 percent to 52.6 pence.
National Grid Plc forecast demand will rise to 389 million
cubic meters at 6 a.m. tomorrow, 48 million more than normal for
the time of year. That's the highest forecast since March 11.
The nation's pipelines will hold 363 million cubic meters of gas
at that time. That's 18 million more than at the start of today.
Gas for immediate delivery slipped 0.75 pence, or 1.4
percent, to 53.5 pence a therm.
U.K. baseload power for tomorrow increased 55 pence, or 1.1
percent, to 49.05 pounds ($76.50) a megawatt-hour, according to
broker data. Power for December fell 15 pence to 47.35 pounds a
megawatt-hour.
National Grid predicted energy use will peak at 54,510
megawatts tomorrow. That's 3 percent less than forecasts for
today. Gas is used to produce about half of U.K.'s electricity
so changes in the fuel prices influence these markets.
For Related News and Information:
Top Gas Story Page: TGAS <GO>
U.K. Gas Prices: UGAS <GO>
U.K. Power Prices: ELEU <GO>
--Editors: Raj Rajendran, John Buckley
To contact the reporters on this story:
Ben Farey in London at +44-20-7673-2369 or
bfarey@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or
sev@bloomberg.net
