UK GAS-Prices ease on milder weather, expected ramp up of Bacton Seal

* Temperatures expected to rise towards the weekend

* Low wind speeds support gas demand for power generation

* Flows at Bacton Seal terminal seen to ramp up by noon

March 10 (Reuters) - British spot gas prices eased on Thursday on expectations for lower demand thanks to rising temperatures and a ramp up of the Bacton Seal terminal. Those factors offset intra-day tightness caused by low flows from the UK continental shelf and LNG terminals.

Gas for immediate delivery eased 0.2 pence to 30.10 pence per therm by 0900 GMT, while the day-ahead contract lost 0.2 pence to 29.70 pence/therm.

Temperatures are expected to rise towards the weekend, and a high pressure system next week will bring largely dry and settled weather with some sunshine at times for all areas, Britain's Met Office said.

Britain's gas network was undersupplied by 24 million cubic metres/day (mcm), with demand pegged at 309 mcm/day, data from National Grid (LSE: NG.L - news) showed.

Gas flows at North Morecambe gas sub-terminal were down to zero due to an unplanned outage, however flows at Bacton Seal terminal were expected to ramp up by about 9 mcm/day by noon on Thursday, helping to reduce the tightness.

"Withdrawals from storages will need to step up to balance the system, and it wouldn't surprise me if within-day prices rally later, though weaker consumption outlook could cap the rise," said Oliver Sanderson, gas market analysts at Thomson Reuters.

While gas demand for heating was expected to fall due to milder weather, gas demand for power generation was robust due to low wind speeds.

Maximum wind power output was seen at 920 MW on Thursday compared with almost 9,000 MW of installed capacity.

Supply from LNG terminals was nominated down to 38 mcm/day from close to 60 mcm/day on Wednesday, while imports from Norway through the Langeled pipeline eased by 4 mcm to 63 mcm/day.

In February, British day-ahead prices fell by 41 percent year-on-year, as higher pipeline gas imports from Russia weighed on prices in Europe, analysts at Energy Aspects said in a note on Thursday.

"One possible explanation is that the expected flow of LNG into the market could signal the prospect of further weakness in the hubs over the second half of 2016," they added.

Further along the curve, contract for gas delivery next-season, was at 27.10 pence/therm, 0.35 pence or 1.28 percent down in step with weakening oil prices.

Dutch day-ahead prices firmed 0.02 euro/MWh to 12.32 euro/MWh.

European carbon prices eased 0.07 euro to 5.02 euro a tonne. (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by Keith Weir)