UK GAS-Prices slip as lower exports lead to oversupply

LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - Prompt British wholesale gas prices fell on Tuesday morning as lower exports and strong output from the country's wind farms contributed to an oversupplied market.

* Day-ahead gas price down 0.58 pence at 58.35 p/therm by 0917 GMT.

* Within-day contract down 1.00 p at 57.75 p/therm.

* Traders said forecasts for strong output from the country's wind farms had led to expectations of weaker demand for gas from gas-fired power stations, while low exports had trapped surplus gas in the country.

* Peak wind power generation is forecast at 6.8 gigawatts (GW) on Tuesday, and 5.1 GW on Wednesday, National Grid (LSE: NG.L - news) data showed.

* British Gas system oversupplied by 15 million cubic metres (mcm) with demand forecast at 149.1 mcm and flows at 164.1 mcm/day, National Grid data showed.

* Analysts at Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU - news) said exports to Belgium though the IUK pipeline were down to 35 mcm/day compared with 44 mcm/day on Monday.

* "The system is strongly oversupplied today amid a drop in IUK export. This is a bearish signal for the prompt," the analysts said in a daily research note.

* Further out on the curve prices also slipped.

* August contract down 0.30 p at 58.15 p/therm.

* Winter 2018 contract down 0.15 p at 64.15 p/therm.

* Day-ahead gas price at the Dutch TTF hub down 0.28 euro at 22.02 euros per megawatt-hour.

* Benchmark Dec-18 EU carbon contract down 0.04 euro at 17.01 euros per tonne. (Reporting By Susanna Twidale; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)