NORDIC POWER-Spot edges up on lower wind output

* Nordic spot price for Tuesday set at 31.76 euros/MWh
* Precipitation levels coming to normal

OSLO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Nordic spot power electricity
prices inched up on Monday due to lower wind power output and
the higher price of hydro-power production as precipitation was
around normal.
The Nordic average day-ahead power price for
Tuesday's delivery settled 31.76 euros a megawatt-hour (MWh)
from 31.02 euros on Monday.
The day-ahead contract was quoted on the financial market in
a bid-ask range of 31.5 euros and 32.5 euros a MWh by 1000 GMT.
Analysts at Point Carbon said the spot price rose on lower
wind output which was seen falling by hourly average of 680 MW
to 1,540 MW on Tuesday.
"The rise also came due to hydro-power producers lifting
their prices," a Point Carbon analyst added.
Nordic nuclear power plants ramped up production during the
weekend, and Sweden's 865 megawatt Ringhals-1 reactor came back
on Monday, but that was already priced in, analysts
said.

FORWARD PRICES
Further out on the curve, the benchmark front-quarter
contract traded slightly up on a drier weather forecast, but the
turnover was low.
The contract for baseload (24 hours) power delivery in the
first quarter firmed by 31 cents to 41.25 euros a MWh
by 1000 GMT from Friday's close.
"The market is a little bit higher on weather forecast, but
it's pretty dull," a Sweden-based trader said.
"We have had some problems getting the market open today,
and the turnover is really bad, just 157 MW for the first
quarter contract," he added.
The latest 15-day weather forecast showed total
precipitation levels for the period nearing the normal levels,
but still at 1.6 terawatt-hours above normal.
"We need a really long-term high pressure to move up the
market strongly. I expect prices to be more or less stable," one
trader said.
The Nordic region relies on hydroelectric power for more
than 50 percent of its power generation. Less rain reduces hydro
power capacity, pushing up prices.
At the far end of the curve, the Nordic contract for
baseload power delivery next year was up by 10 cents to
37.45 euros a MWh, but traded volumes were also low at 16 MW.
Both European carbon prices and coal API2 2013
futures were trading down on Monday morning, a
bearish factor for power prices.

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by William Hardy)