Europe's Q1 13 gas demand up 2.2% on year, power up 1.7%: Soc Gen

Europe's gas demand in the first quarter of 2013 rose 2.2% from the previous year, according to Societe Generale estimates.

An unusually cold March saw gas demand soar by 26.3% from 2012, pushing up the first quarter as a whole, the SG Energy Pulse data showed.

The data is based on a focus group model of demand figures from France, Portugal, Spain, Britain, the Netherlands and Italy, some 61% of total EU gas consumption.

First quarter power demand rose 1.7% on the year, driven by a 10.3% on-year increase in March, also due to the cold.