LONDON - Dutch and British wholesale gas prices rose on Friday morning as ‍cooler than ‍usual temperatures for the time of year boosted ​gas demand for heating.

The benchmark Dutch front-month contract at the TTF ⁠hub was up 0.35 euros at 28.52 euros per megawatt ⁠hour (MWh), or $9.80/mmBtu, by ‌0957 GMT, LSEG data showed. The benchmark contract fell by about 42% over 2025. Prices dropped ⁠as European gas demand fell and lower supply from Russia was plugged by increased imports of liquefied natural gas, particularly from the United States.

On Friday, the Dutch ⁠March price was up ​0.22 euros at 28.00 euros/MWh.

The British day-ahead contract rose by 2.65 pence to ‍78 p/therm.

LSEG meteorologist Georg Muller said the latest forecasts suggest that the ​cold spell across central Europe and Britain will last longer than previously expected.

“The first half of January will be colder than normal with occasional snow. The second half of the month keeps showing a trend towards near-normal weather,” he said in a daily forecast.

Power consumption is also expected to rise next week as the holiday period ends in ⁠Europe.

In Britain, peak wind power was ‌forecast at 18.6 gigawatts on Friday and 19 GW on Saturday, Elexon data showed.

In the European carbon market, ‌the ⁠benchmark contract was up 1.39 euros at 88.76 euros a metric ⁠ton.

(Reporting by Susanna Twidale, Editing by David Goodman )