France Energy Pricing Trends - Dec. 2021
17 Jan 2022
Electricity – EEX Baseload Futures
The month of December saw the high-point of unprecedented volatility. Reached on December 22 with a CAL 22 trading at 407.50 €/MWh, it was a new all-time high. In an already extremely tense climate, the market reacted immediately following the announcement of the shutdown of 2 additional nuclear reactors. Faced with historically low output for the French nuclear fleet (with 15 reactors out of 56 down), fears of a lack of supply weighed heavily. CAL 22 opened à 169.25 €/MWh and closed out the month at 249.54 €/MWh (+47%). Meanwhile CAL 23 rose by 29%.
Carbon – EUA Futures
At the beginning of December, the market saw a new historical peak at 88.88 €/t CO2. The end of the "December 2021" contract led to a bearish drawback, but this trend was in reverse by end of month. CO2 closed at 79.62 €/t against 76.81 €/t on December 1st.
Natural Gas – EEX PEG Futures
Tensions did not ease in December, quite the contrary. Prices continued to rise, led this time by electricity, to reach an all-time high on December 22nd at 139.68 €/MWh for CAL 22. Despite tensions still present with Russia (Nord Stream 2 and Ukraine), the end of the month was, however, marked by a relaxation of prices thanks to the availability of American LNG carriers (LNG). CAL 22 closed at 89.59 €/MWh, or the equivalent of a 56% increase compared with December 1rst. CAL 23 increased by 42%, reaching 49.91 €/MWh by month’s end.
Fuel – London Brent Spot
At the beginning of the month, prices started to rise again following Aramco's announcement of a price increase. The rise was slowed by fears of a resumption of the epidemic that would slow economic activity. Brent closed at 77.89 vs 70.46 $/bbl on December 1st.
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