London (Platts)--13Nov2012/836 am EST/1336 GMT

German forward power prices fell Tuesday following sharp gains in the previous session as EUA carbon allowances retreated from an eight-month-high.

On the prompt, prices diverged, with German day-ahead lower due to a high solar power forecast, while French prompt prices moved up because of a short-lived drop in temperatures and as nuclear output remained reduced, a trader said.

In Germany, power for day-ahead delivery fell Eur1.75 from its highest level so far this month, with Wednesday base last heard before 12:00 London time at Eur52.25/MWh, while peakload power was last heard OTC Eur1.50 lower at Eur61.75/MWh.

French day-ahead last traded OTC Eur4 above Germany at Eur56.25/MWh for base, while peakload was last heard at Eur66.50/MWh, up Eur2.50 from Tuesday and almost Eur5 above Germany.

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Epex Spot settled German day-ahead below OTC at Eur50.89/MWh for base and Eur60.18/MWh for peakload. The same contract in France settled at Eur55.01/MWh for base and Eur64.82/MWh for peakload.

In Germany, wind power output was forecast to remain at a below average 2 GW for average baseload hours Wednesday, a market source said. Solar output was forecast to rise to around 4 GW for Wednesday's average peakload hours, with mid-day peaks possibly reaching 10 GW, the source added.

Conventional plant availability for Wednesday was forecast slightly higher, with nuclear remaining at its full 12.1 GW capacity, lignite availability at 19.7 GW and hard coal at 13.5 GW, according to EEX transparency.

In France, nuclear availability was forecast to rise to 54.4 GW Wednesday, up from a 52.7 GW forecast for Tuesday, according to data from grid operator RTE.

Temperatures across Germany are forecast largely in line with the seasonal average, with CustomWeather pegging Dusseldorf at 1 degree Celsius above the 5-11 C norm Wednesday, up from 1 C below Tuesday.

Paris is forecast to drop from the seasonal average to 2 C below Wednesday, CustomWeather data shows.

On the near curve in Germany, December base remained near its highest level so far this month, just 10 euro cents lower on the day at Eur46.65/MWh, following Monday's Eur1.55 rise, with little change to the weather outlook. Further forward, Cal 13 base shed 40 euro cents to Eur47.35/MWh as EUA carbon allowances dropped more than 50 euro cents to Eur8.55/mt just before 12:00 London time.

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