EU carbon dips in early trade

Carbon prices were a shade down early on Thursday, reversing brief gains at the open.

By 09.00 CET, the EUA contract for December delivery was valued at €15.10, down 0.70 per cent from its settlement on the European Climate Exchange (ECX) on Wednesday.

After a firm opening at €15.30, the front-year contract slid to a morning floor of €14.85 – slightly above yesterday’s bottom trade of €14.81.

Still, trading volume was relatively thin, with just 370,000 allowances changing hands in the December 2009 contract during the first hour of business.

At the back end of the carbon curve, the December 2012 EUA was valued at €17.50, a loss of 0.70 per cent from the Wednesday’s settlement.

In key energy markets, the front-month Brent crude oil contract was last trading at $60.25/bbl, down $0.34 from yesterday’s settlement on the Intercontinental Exchange.

Earlier, the July crude oil product was trading as low as $59.93/bbl.

In the CER market, the December 2009 contract was valued at €12.30 on the ECX at 09.10 CET, down 2.0 per cent from the close on Wednesday.