UK gas plunges as cargoes sail to oversupplied Europe

Bloomberg

Cargoes from around the world filled with liquefied natural gas are sailing to Europe just when the region doesn’t really need them.
Same-day gas in the UK fell the most since October as forecasts for the week showed summer is arriving early, weakening demand for the heating fuel. That comes just
as LNG vessels that set sail for Europe when prices were higher are set to arrive and supplies from Norway increase after planned maintenance.
Same-day gas in the UK fell as much as 12 percent to 35.7 pence a therm ($4.63 per million British thermal units), the lowest level since Oct. 4, before trading at 36.6 pence at 10:43 a.m. London time, according to broker data compiled by Bloomberg. The contract is trading 25 percent below its five-year average for the time of year but 18 percent above last year’s level.
The Netherlands is set to receive its first LNG cargo from the U.S. in the coming weeks, while Nigerian shipments are reaching France after a pipeline exploded in February, distressing the industry there. Northwest Europe may get 16 tankers total in May, compared with this year’s low of five in February.
Gas flows from Norway into the U.K. have jumped 43 percent above the 10-day average to more than 85 million cubic meters a day.
Seasonal maintenance works that curbed supply have been
completed, with no more planned until June 15.