UK GAS-Prompt prices slip as imports surpass high demand

* Market oversupplied by 20.4 mcm

* Demand 22 pct above seasonal norm

LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - British spot gas prices fell on Tuesday morning as higher imports from Norway and the Netherlands outstripped cold weather and high demand.

Gas for within-day delivery fetched 31.75 pence per therm at 0900 GMT, down 0.25 pence from the last settlement.

Gas for day-ahead delivery fell 0.60 pence to 31.90 pence per therm.

With supply flows at about 374.3 million cubic meters (mcm) and demand expected to be 353.9 mcm, Britain's gas system was 20.4 mcm oversupplied, National Grid (LSE: NG.L - news) data showed.

Tuesday's demand was 22 percent above the above the seasonal norm of 289.1, the data showed, but this was easily met by a surge in imports.

Norwegian imports to Britain through the Langeled pipeline were near full capacity at around 70 mcm per day on Tuesday morning, up from levels below 60 mcm the previous day.

Imports from the Netherlands through the BBL pipeline rose to around 35 mcm on Tuesday morning, National Grid data showed, from around 25 mcm on Monday.

Cold weather means high gas demand for heating, with Britain's Met office expecting temperatures will be below freezing in some parts of the country on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Further out on the curve gas prices also fell, with the February contract down 0.15 pence to 31.40 pence per therm

Analysts at Energy Aspects said gas prices could come under pressure early next week and towards February as warmer weather is expected.

"Weather patterns across western Europe now point to a warmer end to January. The latest weather runs expect temperatures across western Europe to turn warmer from 22 January onwards," the analysts said in a weekly research note published on Tuesday.

In the Netherlands, the day-ahead gas price at the TTF hub fell 0.28 euros to 13.35 euros per megawatt-hour.

In Europe's carbon market, the front-year EU Allowance price rose 0.03 euro to 6.79 euros per tonne. (Reporting by Susanna Twidale, editing by Louise Heavens)