Day-ahead electricity prices across Southeast Europe eased from Thursday’s extreme levels on 30 October, but markets in the region’s east remained close to €300/MWh. Lower wind and solar output coincided with a sharp rise in imports, while forecast consumption changed little.
Falling renewable output increases reliance on imports
Regional net imports rose by 1,316 MW day on day to an average of 4,995 MW. Forecast consumption edged down by 88 MW to 34,209 MW, while forecast solar generation fell by 696 MW to 2,342 MW and wind generation dropped by almost 2 GW to 3,301 MW. Combined wind and solar availability was around 2.68 GW lower than a day earlier.
Average imports from Austria and Slovakia into the Hungary-SEE region increased by 1,045 MW to 4,438 MW. Imports from Italy rose by 88 MW to 580 MW. The increase in cross-border reliance came despite broadly unchanged regional demand, with supply rather than consumption driving Friday’s tightness.
Hungary’s average demand fell to 5,169 MW from 5,418 MW, but domestic generation also declined, to 3,141 MW from 3,504 MW. The country’s net imports averaged about 2,028 MW. Hungary exported significant volumes to Romania while importing power from Austria, Slovakia and other neighbouring markets.
Eastern markets remain near €300/MWh
Hungary’s HUPX day-ahead baseload price fell by €18.5/MWh to €306.05/MWh. It remained above Germany at €268.62/MWh, Austria at €275.23/MWh and Italy at €274.04/MWh. The HUPX-Germany spread widened by €27.7/MWh to €37.43/MWh, as German prices declined more sharply than Hungarian prices.
Prices across eastern SEE were closely grouped: Romania settled at €303.56/MWh, Bulgaria at €302.20/MWh, Serbia at €303.29/MWh and Albania at €302.02/MWh. Serbia’s price was down €26.8/MWh from Thursday, while Albania recorded the largest correction, falling €64.8/MWh.
Further south, North Macedonia remained the region’s most expensive market at €321.66/MWh, followed by Montenegro at €313.98/MWh. Montenegro was among the few markets to rise on the day, gaining €1.2/MWh. Greece moved against the broader regional direction: HENEX rose by €49/MWh to €287.75/MWh, leaving Hungary’s premium over Greece at €18.30/MWh, after being almost €68/MWh wider a day earlier; Greece nevertheless remained materially cheaper than the eastern Balkan markets.
Hourly prices showed continued scarcity in the evening. On SEEPEX, Serbia’s €303.3/MWh baseload price included a €331.3/MWh peak average and a daily high of €416.3/MWh at H18. Montenegro reached €407.2/MWh at H18, while North Macedonia’s price peaked at €460/MWh, also at H18.
Gas and forward prices keep regional premiums in focus
Fuel markets continued to set a high underlying price floor. CEGH gas was priced at €100.23/MWh, down €1.8/MWh on the day, while EU carbon allowances stood at €89.2/t. November gas traded at €99.50/MWh and Q1 2027 gas at €98.50/MWh, keeping gas-fired generation expensive across the region.
Forward prices indicated that traders did not expect Hungary’s regional premium to disappear quickly. Hungarian Week 45 power stood at €313/MWh, Week 46 at €310/MWh and November at €293/MWh. The HU-DE forward spread reached €63.5/MWh for Week 45 and €84/MWh for Week 46.
The trading signal at the end of October was that SEE remained structurally short when renewable production weakened. Lower demand alone did not materially reduce prices as declining wind and solar output increased competition between Hungary and the Balkans for Central European imports. Eastern SEE prices clustered around €300/MWh, with persistent premiums to Germany, Austria and Italy and particularly strong scarcity pricing during evening peak hours.