Dutch spark spreads for the upcoming months continue to fall

Last week, Dutch spot prices increased compared to the previous week due to a drop in wind generation. With less renewable generation, gas-fired power plants were the marginal units on most occasions, except on Monday and during the weekend. Tuesday evening briefly saw prices spike to 180 €/MWh, likely due to high demand in the Netherlands, France, and particularly Germany, requiring peak power plants that were offline during the weekend and Monday to start operating. The average spot price was 78.5 €/MWh, nearly 7 euros higher than the previous week.
Towards the end of the week, gas prices rose slightly after having dropped back towards 25 €/MWh the week before. August and September contracts increased by an average of 2 euros, closing at 28.2 and 29.6 €/MWh, respectively.
Notably, the CO2 price increased significantly last week, rising by over 5 euros. The December 2023 contract ended at 91.4 €/EUA.
Meanwhile, coal prices continued to rise. The August contract increased by approximately 18 euros, closing at 102.2 €/ton.
Dutch power contracts became around 1.5 euros more expensive. August closed at 79.5 €/MWh, and September closed at 88.7 €/MWh. The clean spark spreads for the coming months turned more negative, with August closing at -6.6 €/MWh and September at -0.2 €/MWh.

For next year, both gas and coal became more expensive. Gas increased by almost 4 euros, closing at 52 €/MWh, and the coal contract rose by over 17 euros, ending the week at 106.8 €/ton.
Additionally, the CO2 price for next year increased by around 5 euros, closing at 95.8 €/EUA, similar to the December 2023 contract.
The Dutch power price for 2024 rose by nearly 9 euros, closing at 130.1 €/MWh. The clean spark spread remained nearly unchanged at -3.5 €/MWh, while the dark spread decreased by almost 2 euros to reach 5.6 €/MWh.

Weekly changes