Record oil boosts gas and power for longer term

LONDON (Reuters) - New records on the oil market pushed up gas and power for longer term delivery on Friday, while prompter contracts were pressured by comfortable supply.

U.S. crude hit a peak of $142.26, which helped to drive Winter 2008 gas to 101.35 pence per therm, up 0.75 pence, and Winter 2008 power ended at 92.84 pounds per megawatt hour, up 1.54 pounds from the previous close.

Oil products can be used for pricing long-term gas contracts, with knock-on effects for power generated from gas.

For prompter contracts, traders said there was little to drive prices higher.

Heysham 2-8 nuclear power reactor was taken offline for maintenance late on Thursday, bringing to nine the total of nuclear units not producing.

But smaller power generation units came back online and seasonally low demand helped to push baseload for Monday down to 83 pounds, according to one dealer, off an earlier high of 88 pounds.

Gas flows from Norway rose to more than 31 million cubic metres (mcm) from just above 16 mcm early on Friday, according to the National Grid website, but the system switched from long to slightly was short.

Day-ahead gas lost 0.90 pence per therm to 60.00, and within day dropped by 1.40 pence to 60.50.

European Union carbon emissions permits rose 52 cents to 28.40 euros.

(Reporting by Barbara Lewis and Chloe Fussell)