EUROPE POWER-Forward contracts rise slightly with uptick in gas and oil

PARIS, March 4 (Reuters) - European forward power contracts rose on Wednesday, while still below multi-month highs hit on Tuesday, tracking higher natural gas and oil prices stoked by the U.S.-Iran conflict that hit infrastructure and shipping.NG/EUO/R

• Around 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG) transits through the Strait of Hormuz and the United States Navy could begin escorting tankers through the strait if necessary, as U.S. President Donald Trump tries to contain soaring energy prices.

• A prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz would have meaningful impacts on Europe, said Marco Saalfrank, Axpo Head of Continental Europe Merchant Trading.

• Even though Europe is less directly exposed than Asia, it is still highly sensitive to price spikes and freight inflation, he said.

• The German year-ahead baseload contract TRDEBYZ7 was up 1.7% at 88.02 euros ($102.21) per megawatt hour at 1002 GMT, while the equivalent French price TRFRBYZ7 rose by 0.2% to 58.28 euros/MWh.

• Gas-heavy markets have seen stronger gains in their power curves than Spain and France where, particularly in the upcoming spring/early summer season, the space for fossil fuel generation is squeezed by high renewable and nuclear output, said Glenn Rickson, Associate Director at S&P Global Energy.

• On the spot side, the German spot price TRDEBD1 fell on an expected rise in wind power supplies, down 12.6% at 117.75 euros/MWh.

• The equivalent French contract TRFRBD1 was up 12.3% at 72.25 euros/MWh.

• German wind power output is expected to rise by 8 gigawatts on Wednesday to 13.1 GW, while French wind power generation is projected to rise by 1.5 GW to 6.1 GW, LSEG data showed.

• French nuclear power availability rose five percentage points to 84% of total capacity. POWER/FR

($1 = 0.8612 euros)