German 2012 Power Recovers From Six-Week Low as Oil Price Gains
German electricity for next year was little changed, rising from its lowest in six weeks as oil prices rebounded.
Baseload power for 2012 gained 5 cents, or 0.1 percent, to 58.55 euros ($82.49) at 6:20 p.m. Berlin time, according to broker data compiled by Bloomberg. It earlier traded as low as 58.05 euros. Baseload power is delivered around the clock.
The region’s benchmark contract closed at 60.55 euros on April 4, the highest since June 2009, as Germany shut reactors for a safety review after the Japanese nuclear disaster.
Crude rebounded after a report showed that U.S. inventories of distillate fuel, a category that includes diesel and heating oil, tumbled to the lowest level in more than two years as consumption increased. Brent for July settlement rose 1.5 percent to $114.24 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. Crude affects the cost of natural gas and coal, used at power stations to generate electricity.
Hard coal for next-year delivery to Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Antwerp was unchanged at $126.75 a metric ton, after earlier trading as low as $125.50. The fuel accounted for about a fifth of Germany’s power last year. Germany also produces electricity from lignite, or brown coal, natural gas, wind and solar plants.
Bloomberg tracks power prices from brokers including GFI Group Inc. (GFIG), ICAP Plc, Spectron Group Ltd., Tradition Financial Services and Tullet Prebon Plc.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lars Paulsson in London at lpaulsson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net
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