Spot prices fall on the back of low demand before holidays

European prompt electricity prices fell on Tuesday due to a combination of?rising renewables output, high French nuclear power supply and weak consumption before Christmas holidays.

In a research report, Riccardo Paraviero, LSEG's analyst, said that the outlook for tomorrow is "undoubtedly" bearish due to a significant drop in demand as compared with the previous week.

LSEG data showed that German baseload for the day ahead was down by 26.9% to?57 euros ($67.19 per megawatt-hour (MWh)? at 0910 GMT.

The French equivalent contract dropped even further to trade at '29.80 Euros/MWh. This is down 61.7%, and is less than half of the price on its larger neighbouring market.

LSEG data shows that the German wind output is expected to increase by 2.3 gigawatts to 34.2 GW this Wednesday, while French generation will triple to 15.7 GW.

The French nuclear power capacity remained unchanged at 90% overnight.

In Germany, the power consumption is expected to fall day by day. However, it will rise in France.

The German demand for electricity is expected to drop by 8.4 GW to 46.3 GW on Wednesday, while French demand will rise by 500MW to 58.5?GW. This is primarily due to forecasts of colder weather.

German and French baseload year-ahead had not yet begun trading, despite closing at 85.90 euros/MWh and 50.80 respectively on Monday.

The benchmark contract on the European carbon markets gained 0.3%, to 87.78 Euros per metric ton.

(source: Reuters)