The German day-ahead baseload jumped by 35% or Eur13/MWh to Eur50/MWh -- a nine-month high -- as wind was set to come off further and provide less than 4 GW generation Friday.
Wind generation set to fall below 4 GW Friday
Weekend trades Eur41.50/MWh above previous weekend
Curve remains strong after Wednesday's price jump
The last time the contract was assessed higher by Platts was on February 8 at Eur60.25/MWh, when nuclear supply in Germany and France was tight and there was high winter demand.
Short-term traded power has witnessed high volatility in Germany in the recent week on fluctuations in wind production. Last weekend EPEX settled Sunday at minus Eur52/MWh as stormy weather pressured prices into negative territory.
Friday peakload day-ahead was last seen before 11:00 am London time at Eur60/MWh, up Eur16.
EPEX settled Friday close to the over-the-counter equivalents at Eur50.44/MWh for the base and at Eur59.45/MWh for the peak.
Wind generation in Germany was set to fall Friday to a load factor of 8%, or 4 GW from 32% Thursday during baseload hours, spotrenewables forecast.
Solar output was forecast to edge lower as well with 1 GW less generation during Friday's peakload hours at 4.5 GW or a load factor of 11%.
Combined wind and solar production during peak times on Friday was set to reach only 7 GW, boosting German spot prices.
The weekend contract was last seen at Eur35.25/MWh, only slightly higher on the day but Eur41.50/MWh higher than last weekend traded.
CURVE SUPPORTED AFTER WEDNESDAY'S SURGE
The German Cal-18 contract was last seen at steady Eur37.10/MWh after hitting a record high at Wednesday's close, according to S&P Global Platts data.
The main trigger for Wednesday's surge of the curve was bullish coal and on Thursday morning it was still supporting power prices.
Coal into Europe for 2018 delivery continued its rise to $87.75/mt, after hitting its highest since June 2013 Wednesday of $87.40/mt.
