* UK gas market oversupplied by 15 mcm
* Langeled imports jump to 43 mcm
Aug 10 (Reuters) – British spot gas prices fell on Monday as imports from Norway rose sharply following the end of planned maintenance, adding to an oversupplied system.
Prices for within-day delivery were down 1.75 pence at 40.25 pence per therm at 0921 GMT. The day-ahead contract was unchanged at 40.65 pence per therm.
With supply at 188 million cubic metres (mcm) per day and demand expected to be about 173 mcm, the system was 15 mcm oversupplied, National Grid (LSE: NG.L – news) data showed.
Imports from Norway via Britain’s main subsea gas import route, the Langeled pipeline, were around 43 mcm, up from around 11 mcm on Friday, National Grid data showed.
Total (Swiss: FP.SW – news) imports from Norway were 43 mcm higher at 80 mcm.
“There’s a distinct lack of bullish drivers at present, from Norwegian flows, to LNG, to UK production and oil’s continued slide, are all weighing on prices,” said Wayne Bryan, analyst at consultancy Alfa Energy.
Brent crude was down 19 cents at $ 48.42 a barrel, after touching $ 48.24 earlier in the session, the lowest in over six months.
Gas prices further along the curve also eased, with the Winter 2015 contract down 0.1 pence at 44.70 pence per therm, near Friday’s contract low of 44.30 pence per therm.
In the Netherlands, the day-ahead gas price at the TTF hub was 0.13 euros higher at 20.08 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh).
The benchmark European Union carbon price was up 0.04 euros at 7.83 euros per tonne on ICE Futures Europe. (Reporting by Sarah McFarlane; editing by David Evans)
