Energy market split as French supply tightens, German wind output seen up
9581 Min Read
European power prices diverged on Monday, with those in France rising due to a drop in nuclear supply while those in Germany fell on prospects of higher wind power volumes.
The price of over-the-counter baseload power for Tuesday was at 33 euros a megawatt hour (MWh) at 1150 GMT in Germany, down 25% from Monday delivery.
The equivalent French day-ahead contract was up 3.3% at 47 euros.
Electricity generation from German wind turbines is expected to rise nearly three-fold to 20.3 gigawatts (GW) day-on-day to Tuesday, with supply on Monday seen at 7.4 GW, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
French nuclear power availability fell 3.5 percentage points from Friday to 48.9% of installed capacity.
Demand was forecast to rise in both markets, in Germany’s case by 2.2 GW to 55.7 GW , and in France’s by 800 MW to 45.7 GW.
However this trend could be short-lived, with average temperatures due to rise again in the short term, curbing demand. Average consumption levels next week could be slightly down from Monday’s, the data showed.
Along the curve Germany’s Cal ’21 baseload, the European futures benchmark, lost 1.1% to 41.3 euros/MWh, the lowest in two weeks, led by carbon losses.
The equivalent French year-ahead contract was down 1% at 47.8 euros/MWh. December 2020 expiry European CO2 allowances fell 1.5% to 26.96 euros a tonne.
Hard coal for northern European delivery in 2021 was 0.7% down at $55.7 a tonne.German industrial output rose far less than expected in July, suggesting Europe’s largest economy faces a slow return to pre-coronavirus crisis production levels.
