German power prices are boosted by mixed wind signals

German spot power prices for Tuesday were more than twice as high as the French equivalent contract at the start of trading on Monday. This is because wind power supplies are down in Germany, but increasing in France. Demand in the entire region has also increased.

By 848 GMT on Tuesday, the German baseload electricity for that day was priced at 97.50 euro ($105.58). The French power for that same day was priced at 45 euros/MWh. On Friday, neither contract was traded for delivery on Monday.

Florine Enengl, LSEG analyst, says that Germany will be a net exporter of goods on Tuesday except for a couple hours in the morning or evening.

LSEG data indicated that the German wind output is expected to drop by 7.2 gigawatts to 13.2 GW while French output is projected to increase by 7.3 GW up to 12.2 GW.

The data indicated that the German solar generation is expected to increase by 3.3 GW to 11 GW on February 2.

LSEG data shows that power consumption in Germany will increase by 1.6 GW Tuesday to 56.6 GW. In France, demand is expected to rise 2.1 GW from 52 GW.

Three reactors were taken offline by the French government for planned maintenance, resulting in a five-point drop to 71%.

The German baseload power for the year ahead rose by 0.4%, to 84.55 Euros/MWh. In contrast, the French equivalent dropped 0.5%, to 61.50 Euros/MWh.

Analysts at Energi Danmark stated that there is a great deal of uncertainty in the market this week, with trade wars still raging and Ukraine being a major issue. Any news about these topics could disrupt the German forward power market.

The benchmark carbon contract in Europe was down by 1.2%, at 68 euro per metric ton. ($1 = 0.9234 euro) (Reporting and editing by Vijay Kishore; Forrest Crellin)

(source: Reuters)