European carbon prices dipped in very light, range-bound trade on Thursday amid weakness in peripheral energy markets.

Front-year EUA futures closed down 5 cents at €7.33, a cent off the day’s low, after trading in a very narrow 10-cent range.

Liquidity was low at just over 9.5 million units traded.

“It’s like watching paint dry … It feels a bit like the summer lull already. The market considers the MSR done, so there’s not much driving prices these days,” one trader said.

German power prices dropped on sliding demand and more availability of renewable energy, and were poised to test their 2015 lows set in early January.

However, cheaper power’s effect on EU carbon prices was offset by a firmer euro and softer coal prices.

German clean dark spreads for Cal-17 and Cal-18 were both off by a few cents, according to Carbon Pulse calculations.

Traders said EUAs continued to trade in a technical channel between €7.25-7.85, and would likely remain in it in the absence of any major change in underlying fundamentals or the political landscape.

While healthy auction supply of 14.8 million units was leaning slightly on EUA prices this week, sale quotas are due to drop to 12.2 million next week and 9 million the week after, before roaring back to 15.1 million in the second week of June.

The EU on Thursday sold 2.918 million spot EUAs for €7.30 each, in an auction that attracted a total 11 million units in bids but featured a mean bid price of just €6.84.

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