Spark spreads from the front winter onwards contracted on Tuesday as power prices proved more bearish than the weakening gas market. Falling coal prices - particularly on long-term contracts - fed into the downwards movement. The relative strength of long-term dark spreads means that power’s far-seasons will also take direction from the coal market, which on Tuesday’s bearish session provided additional pressure to compress spark spreads.

Strong selling interest also helped push the seasonal contracts lower, traders said, contributing to the tighter spark spreads. The session’s losses may have been overdone, one trader suggested, given that power’s overall weakness has put clean dark spreads under pressure even out on the far curve. The session’s consistent losses were in sharp contrast to the largely static and directionless trading seen on Monday.

Further out prices moved in line with earlier dated contracts.