EUROPE GAS-Dutch prices rangebound amid gas storage target extension

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Dutch wholesale gas prices were rangebound on Wednesday morning as warmer weather was set to continue this week but turn colder next week and as the European Commission proposed a two-year extension of gas storage fill targets.

The benchmark front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub TRNLTTFMc1 edged down by 0.04 euro to 43.26 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) by 1012 GMT, according to LSEG data.

The Dutch May contract TRNLTTFMc2 inched up by 0.54 euro to 43.30 euros/MWh.

While average temperatures in north-west Europe are forecast to rise until the end of the week, reducing demand, below normal temperatures are expected to return early next week.

The colder weather forecast for early next week introduces bullish risk and uncertainty to the market, said LSEG gas analyst Oleh Skrynyk.

The European Commission proposed a two-year extension of the EU's targets to fill gas storage, despite concern among some countries that the goals are pushing up gas prices.

The proposal said the EU executive favoured keeping until 2027 a target to fill EU gas storage caverns to 90% of capacity by Nov. 1 each year, plus a series of intermediate targets in the months leading up to November.

"Europe's 90% storage mandate on November 1 implies that the storage will need to be high at the start of the next heating season, even if the inventories this winter are running low," said analysts at BofA.

"As a result, the front summer prices are elevated, but not front winter, resulting in inverted seasonal spreads. Absent abnormal supply disruption and statutory minimum storage requirements, winter-summer spreads are typically positive, and encourage storage providers to purchase gas in summer and store it for the upcoming winter season," they added.

The Commission also delayed an announcement to accelerate the end of Russian energy imports for a second time from March 26 to an unspecified date, a schedule showed on Wednesday.

In the British market, prices rose. The April contract was 0.97 pence higher at 104.64 pence per therm.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 inched up by 0.28 euro to 68.78 euros per metric ton.