Southeast European day-ahead electricity prices declined across most markets for Wednesday delivery, narrowing Hungary’s premium over Germany. At the same time, higher gas and carbon costs continued to support firmer forward power prices.
Serbia moved against the broader regional trend, with SEEPEX rising €1.50 to €197.97/MWh. Montenegro’s BELEN, meanwhile, dropped €34.60 to €197.41/MWh, marking the largest daily decline among the markets tracked and leaving the two markets just €0.56/MWh apart.
The price movements narrowed Serbia’s discount to Hungary to €12.85/MWh. Serbia’s average net import position stood at 840 MW, indicating continued dependence on imported electricity despite its price remaining below levels recorded in Hungary, Romania and Croatia.
Hungary’s HUPX fell €14 to €210.81/MWh, while Romania also declined €14, reaching €208.70/MWh. The resulting €2.11/MWh difference reflected the close price relationship between the two interconnected markets.
Hungary’s premium over Germany narrowed to €18.79/MWh, compared with around €23.10/MWh the previous day and €76.10/MWh on Monday. Imports through the Austria–Slovakia corridor into Hungary and Slovenia increased by approximately 529 MW to 1,954 MW, suggesting that stronger western supply helped reduce the price gap.
Across the wider Hungary–SEE region, net imports increased by 216 MW to 2,325 MW, while forecast demand edged up just 49 MW to 29,669 MW. Imports consequently accounted for almost 8% of expected consumption, providing additional support to regional supply.
Renewable generation forecasts also pointed to a more favourable supply balance. Average solar output was forecast to increase by 527 MW to 6,501 MW, more than offsetting a 243 MW decline in wind generation to 1,064 MW. The resulting net renewable increase of around 284 MW, combined with higher imports and broadly stable demand, supported lower day-ahead prices.
Significant price disparities nevertheless remained across the region. North Macedonia posted the lowest daily average at €162.35/MWh, narrowly ahead of Greece at €162.46/MWh. Both markets traded approximately €48/MWh below Hungary, highlighting persistent regional differences.
Bulgaria recorded an €8.80 decline to €198.60/MWh and remained a net exporter, with average exports of 1,503 MW. Romania was a net importer at 1,411 MW, while Hungary imported 986 MW and Croatia 851 MW. The contrasting positions highlight the role of cross-border transmission capacity in shifting electricity from surplus to deficit markets.
Further west, Slovenia fell €17.90 to €202.19/MWh, while Croatia declined €16.70 to €204.32/MWh. Albania dropped €27.40 to €212.13/MWh, although it remained slightly more expensive than Hungary. Italy continued to record the highest price among the tracked markets, at €220.27/MWh.
Forward power prices moved in the opposite direction, signalling a firmer medium-term outlook. Hungarian electricity for week 42 increased €1 to €202/MWh, while week 43 rose €3 to €204.50/MWh. November delivery gained €3.50 to €212.50/MWh.
Rising fuel and emissions costs provided additional support to the forward market. Austrian CEGH gas climbed to €77.86/MWh, November gas increased €2 to €77/MWh, while EU carbon allowances gained €0.90 to €84.78/tonne.
For buyers, Wednesday’s regional price declines provided some short-term relief in procurement costs. However, forward prices continued to point to expensive electricity into November, while the significant gap between Greece and Hungary kept cross-border capacity at the centre of regional trading. Serbia’s modest increase, in contrast with sharper declines elsewhere, also underscored the uneven distribution of price relief across Southeast Europe.
