Market risk
Chinese clampdown on HFT may hinder new oil contract
Tighter rules on high-frequency trading being considered after China’s stock market meltdown may have the unintended effect of undermining new Shanghai crude oil contract
Vendors slam ‘uncooperative’ energy exchanges over Remit
Exchanges maintain tight grip on data amid new EU reporting regime for power and gas markets, disappointing some market participants
Index investing paper shows gap between theory and reality
The theories of commodity index investment gurus Gary Gorton and K Geert Rouwenhorst have little in common with the experience of real-world investors
Probes of EU energy market abuse set to jump with Remit
The October 7 launch of Remit trade reporting is expected to spark a flurry of new investigations into suspected abuse of EU power and gas markets
Commodity end-users fret over shrinking number of FCMs
Futures brokers attack costly new rules at a CFTC meeting on September 22
Winds of change will continue to roar for energy markets
Ten years ago, economists were sanguine amid the ‘great moderation' and the energy industry was fretting about peaking worldwide oil supplies. There is no predicting the future, writes energy market veteran Vincent Kaminski, but it is sure to be a leap…
Liquidity biggest worry for RWE Supply & Trading CRO
The varied career of Uwe Schulz, CRO of RWE Supply & Trading, has led him to appreciate the dangers of liquidity risk – something that is particularly relevant in today’s energy market environment
Singapore power and LNG ambitions face challenges
Singapore is seeking to supplement its position as Asia's oil trading powerhouse by promoting itself as a regional hub for power and liquefied natural gas. While these ambitions have met with modest success, they also face major challenges
The challenge of optimising physical energy assets
How energy trading organisations can improve the way they optimise their assets
E&P firms reluctant to hedge in wake of oil collapse
Having undergone a severe decline since late 2014, the price of crude oil has fallen still further in the past few months. That has made US shale producers reluctant to hedge for fear of locking in rock-bottom prices
EU TSOs need carrot to tackle congestion – EEX's Reitz
Electrical grid operators' lack of investment and the rise of capacity mechanisms are impeding cross-border trading, said panellists at a discussion in London
Commodity index advocates stick to their guns
Ten years after publishing an influential paper that fuelled the commodity investment boom, Yale professors Gary Gorton and K Geert Rouwenhorst have revisited their study and found their arguments still "largely hold up". But critics are quick to disagree
Maximising refinery profits using portfolio optimisation
Petroleum refining is a complicated, multi-dimensional task that involves many tricky operating decisions. In this article, Carlos Blanco and Christopher Mammarelli explain how a portfolio-based optimisation framework can maximise the profitability of a…
Internal transfer price optimisation for integrated energy firms
By selecting appropriate levels for the internal transfer prices of commodities and risk, an energy company can influence the alignment of its overall risk-return profile with its strategic objectives. Here, Henrik Specht, Sergey Zykov, Tilman Huhne and…
Acer reappoints Pototschnig for three-year term
Barclays hires senior energy traders; CFTC's Wetjen steps down; Freepoint nabs JPM energy trader; ICBC SB boosts commodities team; ABN Amro reshuffles commodities
Index publishers’ woes endanger market transparency
Price reporting agencies have long warned of the consequences of overbearing regulation on their indexes. It now seems those prophecies are coming true
Is the financialisation of commodities being reversed?
In the past 30 years, a process of financialisation has drastically reshaped the energy and commodity sector. Now, it appears the level of diminishing marginal returns has been reached and that process is shifting into reverse, says energy market veteran…
US gas price reporting drop raises questions about indexes
Jitters about regulatory risk have caused a growing number of energy firms to stop reporting their US natural gas trades to Platts and other index publishers. As reported transaction volumes fall, can the indexes still be trusted?
Fall in US gas hub liquidity hampers derivatives market
Surging shale gas production in the northeast US has undermined Platts’ Gulf Coast indexes and derivatives contracts that rely on them
Direct Energy CFO sees change as the only constant
Andrew Sunderman, the chief financial officer of US energy retailer Direct Energy, has seen it all - financial crises, market meltdowns and political upheaval in Africa
CFTC’s Giancarlo backs phased approach to position limits
The CFTC should implement speculative position limits for the spot month first, before imposing non-spot-month limits, says commissioner Chris Giancarlo
Infrastructure funds focus on de-risking energy investments
As energy companies face a tough time gaining access to capital, a growing number of them have found relief from infrastructure funds and other investors keen to snap up low-risk, low-yielding assets. Three such investors outline their approach
US propane retailer hedges to offer customers stable prices
Keeping Michigan residents warm for a reasonable price is the central mission of Grand Rapids-based propane and fuels retailer Crystal Flash. But it couldn't be done without hedging and prudent risk management