OSLO: Nordic day-ahead power prices inched up on Wednesday on expectations for lower wind power output and slightly higher consumption, analysts said.
The day-ahead price for Thursday was set at 34.94 euros ($45.09) per megawatt-hour (MWh) at an auction on the Nord Pool Spot exchange, up from 34.74 euros for Wednesday.
The day-ahead contract in the financial market last traded at 35.10 euros/MWh, meaning traders expected slightly higher spot prices.
"Spot prices firmed on expectations for lower output from wind power plants and lower temperatures boosting consumption slightly," said Mohammed Alfaki, an analyst at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon.
Net imports to the Nordic countries were scheduled to increase by 680 MW, but this was partly offset by the restart of several paper mills, one of the biggest consumers, in the Nordic region.
Elsewhere, power flows between Estonia and Finland have stopped completely as two subsea interconnections were shut due to technical reasons, Estonia's grid operator Elering said on Wednesday.
That resulted in Estonia power prices rising to 64.75 euros/MWh compared with 39.24 euros/MWh in Finland, while normally prices in the two diverge little.
Nordic power prices for delivery in the fourth quarter were broadly unchanged at 36.10 euros/MWh, after reaching the highest levels since January on Tuesday.
Wetter weather is expected in Scandinavia after Sept. 20, but no major wet spells were unlikely during the next two weeks, meteorologists said.
The Nordic market generates about half its electricity from hydropower, meaning that changes in precipitation are an important determinant of prices. Prices for full 2015 eased by 9 cents to 33.31 euros/MWh.
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