UK GAS-Within-day price falls on milder temperatures, strong wind

LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - The British wholesale gas price for immediate delivery fell on Wednesday morning as milder temperatures and high output from the country's wind farms curbed demand for gas. * Within-day gas price was down 0.75 pence at 51.90 p/therm at 0903 GMT. * "We expect… particularly strong wind power production today and so the gas-for-power consumption is expected to drop," analysts at Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU - news) said in a daily research note. * Gas system oversupplied by 21 million cubic metres (mcm), with demand forecast at 325.7 mcm and flows 346.7 mcm/day, National Grid (LSE: NG.L - news) data showed. * Peak wind power generation is forecast at 8.5 gigawatts (GW) on Wednesday, falling to 7.9 GW on Thursday, National Grid data showed. * Traders said the day-ahead price, however, is higher due to expectations that temperatures would dip later in the week. * Day-ahead gas price was up 0.30 pence at 52.30p/therm. * "Thursday is expected to be colder than today, hence why day-ahead is up," a trader said. * Britain's Met Office forecast parts of the south of the country would see highs of 9 degrees Celsius on Wednesday but could fall to lows around 1 degree by the weekend. * Further out on the curve prices slipped. * February contract down 0.50 at 54.30 p/therm * Winter 2018 contract down 0.13 at 52.90 p/therm. * Day-ahead gas price at the Dutch TTF hub was up 0.10 euro at 19.25 euros per megawatt-hour. * Benchmark Dec-18 EU carbon contract inched up by 0.02 euro to 7.83 euros per tonne. * Thomson Reuters analyst view: http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageid=united-kingdom-gas (Reporting by Susanna Twidale; editing by Nina Chestney)