<p>April 16 - German forward power contracts edged up on Thursday, tracking gas prices, as markets monitored developments in the Middle East  that would shape electricity prices in the near future.</p>
<ul>
<li>Optimism grew on Thursday that the Iran war may be nearing its end, with a key Pakistani mediator in Tehran and the administration of President Donald Trump talking up hopes for a deal that would open the crucial Strait of Hormuz.</li>
<li>If there is a deal and a ceasefire agreement that holds, then we could see also lower oil and gas prices, Raiffeisen research analyst Aaron Alber said.</li>
<li>If not, we will see higher prices, he added.</li>
<li>The German year-ahead contract  (TRDEBYc1)  was up 0.8% at 88.4 euros per megawatt-hour at 0901 GMT.</li>
<li>The forward contracts tracked Dutch and British gas prices, which trimmed the previous session’s losses as the market awaited further updates on the Middle East peace talks. (NG/EU)</li>
<li>The forward French contract  (TRFRBYc1)  had a bid price of 53 euros.</li>
<li>On the spot side, German power contracts  (TRDEBD1)  fell by 2% to 109 euros/MWh, as consumption is expected to fall by 1.6 gigawatts on rising temperatures.</li>
<li>The equivalent French contract fell 2.1% to 70 euros/MWh.</li>
<li>French nuclear power availability remained flat at 81% of total capacity as the unplanned outage at the Civaux 2 nuclear reactor was pushed back one day to Thursday.  (POWER/FR)</li>
</ul>

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EUROPE POWER-German year-ahead contracts edge up, tracking gas prices