OREANDA-NEWS. Prompt natural gas prices in Britain slipped on Friday, as supply and demand were close to balanced, and the political risk premium dampened after Ukraine sent a gas payment to Russia.

Gas prices for within-day delivery were down 1.4 percent at 52.25 pence per therm at 0944 GMT.

"It had a good run up over the past two days," a broker said, noting this was in the lead up the Ukraine payment.

Ukraine has sent \$15 million to pay for Russian gas, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday, just days after Moscow had threatened to cut off supplies to its neighbour due to non-payment.

"The dominant driver over the past couple days has been the Russia-Ukraine crisis over pre-payment of gas," Thomson Reuters Point Carbon analysts said.

"We see the dispute on the bearish side today, with news reports stating that it is mostly a transition to negotiating new terms for Ukrainian gas imports."

Temperatures held above seasonal norms although meteorologists expected a cold snap next week, likely to drive up demand for gas for heating.

Later dated contracts continued to find support from the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine over longer term gas supply.

Prices for summer delivery were up 0.7 percent at 47.35 pence per therm.

In the Netherlands, the day-ahead gas price at the TTF hub was down 0.8 percent at 23.75 euros per megawatt-hour.

The benchmark European Union carbon price eased 1 percent to 7.05 euros per tonne on ICE Futures Europe.