LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - Dutch and British wholesale gas prices were steady on Thursday morning with supply and demand in the market fairly balanced.
The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub TRNLTTFMc1 was up 0.40 euros at 31.98 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), or $10.25/mmbtu, by 0823 GMT, LSEG data showed.
The Dutch day-ahead contract TRNLTTFD1 was up 0.15 euros at 31.67 euros/MWh.
In the British market, the front-month contract TRGBNPMc1 was up 0.6 pence at 74.15 pence per therm.
"On the demand side there are no significant changes, however wind speeds are picking up towards the weekend, easing out the gas for power demand," LSEG analyst Saku Jussila said in a daily market note.
In Britain, peak wind power output is forecast at 6.9 gigawatts (GW) on Thursday, rising to 8.2 GW on Friday, Elexon data showed.
Supply remained stable, with total liquefied natural gas (LNG) sendout for northwest Europe expected today at 1,478 gigawatt hours/day, roughly flat from Wednesday, LSEG data showed.
Russia's Gazprom said it would send 42.4 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Thursday, the same volume as on Wednesday.
The market is also watching for news of output from Freeport LNG in the U.S., which is ramping up production this week at its Texas facility after the company repairs some damage from Hurricane Beryl.
"Freeport LNG is under the spotlight again with uncertainty regarding its full resumption… Although its impact on prices is not expected to be long lasting, the global market still needs to be vigilant about potential supply disruptions," said Rystad Energy's vice president Wei Xiong.
In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract fell by 0.29 euros to 66.25 euros a metric ton.
