British gas prices softened early on Monday as ample supply and milder weather allowed storage facilities to be turned down or filled back to cope with future cold spells.

Gas for Tuesday stood at 33.25 pence ($5.42) per therm? by 1000 GMT, down 0.75 pence from day ahead contracts on Friday.

Early in January, day ahead contracts hit 11-month highs of above 46 pence in the face of a record-breaking cold spell, while Norwegian supply faced technical problems.

Monday gas was 33 pence, down 0.50 pence, while February shed 0.15 pence to 33.45 pence. March bucked the trend to put on 0.20 pence to 32.7 pence.

"We are exporting as well," a trader said. "We can be quite bearish from here, I'd say...There's plenty of gas around. And we can deal with any cold spell, if it materialises."

National Grid data showed the system was in rough balance after starting the day very long, helped by exports to continental Europe via Interconnector?.

The Britain-Belgium gas Interconnector pipeline has been in UK export mode since Saturday after British imports of the fuel over the past several weeks.

While Norwegian supply via the Langeled system continue to flow near maximum capacity of around 70 million cubic metres (mcm) per day, input from the Rough storage facility slowed to 30 mcm after being switched off overnight.

Mild weather cut gas demand? to about 387 mcm -- still above seasonal norms of 352 mcm but well below above 400 mcm one week ago. Gas was also being injected into medium range facilities, which had been depleted during the cold spell. Three LNG cargoes also arrived in Britain since Friday, including Berge Arzew, Al Ghuwairiya and Arctic Discoverer.

Along the curves, prices were down, partly also due to lower oil prices.

Oil fell for the sixth consecutive session to below $78 a barrel on Monday as renewed concerns over energy demand and the outlook for economic growth prompted investors to sell positions.

The 2010 summer slipped 0.40 pence to 30.35 pence, while the 2010 winter fell 0.25 pence to 45.00 pence.

In the power market, prices were little changed, except for prompt contracts, which rose due to tight supply margins following a weekend when some plants shut down.

Baseload electricity for Tuesday stood at 35.75 pounds per megawatt hour, up from 35 pounds for day ahead contracts on Friday. February stood at 35.5 pounds, down from 35.70 pounds, and March was unchanged at 35 pounds.