Average day-ahead electricity prices on 18 European exchanges ranged from just under €97 per MWh in Spain and Portugal to €280 per MWh in Switzerland. Monthly spot prices increased compared to the previous month in all European markets, except for Spain and Portugal. The increase in European day-ahead prices compared to November was about 30 percent on average.
On an annual basis, almost all European prices recorded an increase. The exceptions are Spain and Portugal, whose prices were reduced by 60 percent compared to December 2021, while Germany and Switzerland achieved a minimal drop of about one percent.
The Greek spot market of the HenEx exchange was the second most expensive in Europe, with an average of 277 euros per MWh. That is 22 percent higher than in November and 18 percent higher than the average price in December 2021.
The price on the Slovenian BSE was 264.2 euros per MWh in December, and on the Romanian OPCOM and Bulgarian IBEX 247.8 euros per MWh (+11% on an annual basis). On the Hungarian HUPX, the average December price is 261.1 euros per MWh. Croatian CROPEX records a monthly average of 246.7 euros per MWh.
The average spot price in Germany was 251.6 euros per MWh, and in France 270.9 euros per MWh.
The liquidity of European day-ahead markets decreased in December by an average of about 5% on an annual basis.
The trading volume on the EPEX SPOT day-ahead market was 42 TWh, compared to 45.5 TWh in the same month last year. When it comes to the intraday market, the volume was 12.9 TWh (1.1 TWh in December 2021), which is a new monthly record.
