News
EC tightening of carbon spot market could threaten forward market
Industry experts are wary of European Commission proposals intended to bring additional safeguards to the spot market
US: States rethink carbon trading scheme
New Hampshire House votes to leave RGGI, New Jersey could follow; change in states’ attitudes to cap-and-trade “not surprising”
Volatility spike boosts oil options trading volume to all-time high
The sharp increase in oil price volatility resulting from political upheaval in Libya and across the Middle East has helped push the volume of oil options traded to a new all-time high
Algorithmic trading will come to coal and natural gas, says exchange president
When coal and gas futures reach the liquidity levels of oil, algorithmic traders will enter the marketplace
Energy companies face software integration issues
Energy Risk software survey shows traders plan to add to ETRM systems in 2011; vendors discuss integration problems
Middle East protests spread to major oil-producing countries
Brent crude reaches its highest price since September 2008
Gazprom’s Medvedev compares shale to dotcom bubble
"Massive" shale production unsustainable at current prices; Gazprom has no plans to invest
Netherlands–Belgium cross-border intra-day electricity trading begins
Move will lead to alignment of intra-day fees in March
International banks to fight over ANZ and Westpac power trading experts
As the Australian power market grows, international investment banks will need to bag the local talent to capitalise on the opportunities presented, say experts
Emerging market commodity intensity set to boom, say analysts
BarCap research analysts forecast commodity intensive GDP for emerging markets for 2011, with strong growth in the base metals sector
Macquarie moves into Canadian crude
Macquarie Group expands into Canadian crude market; hires ex-Trafigura Canada president to lead new business
El Al enhances risk management and hedging operations
Israel’s national airline tightens up on the way it hedges jet fuel risk and currency movements
Henry Hub futures activity surges
Volume in Nymex’s benchmark Henry Hub natural gas contract exceeds 500,000 contracts for first time
Concerns over Egypt & inflation push oil derivatives trading volumes to record levels
Oil prices will continue to rise to triple-digit highs over 2011 on long-term Egypt risk premiums and continual unrelated underlying issues, say market experts
Brent-WTI spread broken: analyst
Brent-WTI spread causes concerns about oil benchmarks to resurface; Ice and Nymex defend use for futures contracts
Oil markets over-reacting to Egypt protests, say analysts
Declining global spare capacity is magnifiying the "fear premium" on oil, as a result of events in North Africa
BarCap advises carbon market to use UK registries
Barclays Capital advises clients to stick to the UK in light of recent EUA thefts across European registries
Australia floods and weather forecast herald trouble for coal markets
The World Meteorological Organization’s announcement that the La Niña weather pattern will continue into the second quarter could be bad news for the coal markets, finds Alex Davis
EU to examine commodity derivatives/physical market link
Following sustained calls from EU members to curb commodity derivative markets, the EU will research the link between derivative and physical markets
Oil to reach over $150/bbl in 12-18 months
A prominent hedge fund manager says oil price will break through historic highs within the next 12-18 months
CNOOC and Chesapeake announce second shale deal
Chinese E&P company CNOOC has announced a $1.3 billion deal to purchase a 33.3% stake in some of US producer Chesapeake's shale assets
EUA theft could severely damage carbon market, say analysts
Last month’s theft of carbon allowances was a blow to the European Union’s efforts to develop the carbon market. Katie Holliday reports on the expected extent of the damage
Energy players expect further market fragmentation
Energy market fragmentation is likely to continue as larger players scale back their activities under Dodd-Frank
Operational risk to reduce Iraqi oil supply and exports
Iraq, one of the world’s largest locations with proven oil reserves, will not be able to hit governmental production targets due to the level of operational risk, say experts