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EUA prices rise by 3.7%

Prices of EU carbon allowances (EUAs) rose by 3.7% today amid thin volume on the day of the expiry of the December contract.

The EUA futures contract for December 2011 delivery finished up 25 cents (3.7%) at € 7 on ICE Futures Europe with only around 4 million tonnes of CO2 traded.

The market opened at € 6.77, down 2 cents. The expiring contract fell to € 6.50 in morning trade before rising to € 7.04 in the afternoon.

EUA prices made gains despite weaker German power prices which headed south on forecasts of warmer weather in Europe.

German 2012 baseload power trading on the European Energy Exchange (EEX) finished down 32 cents at € 51.50 per MWh.

Meanwhile, stocks also moved lower after Fitch rating agency warned on Friday it can cut the credit ratings of seven euro zone countries, including France.

The December 2012 EUA contract finished up 29 cents (4.1%) at € 7.43 in London with around 10.1 million tonnes of CO2 traded.

The expiring December 2011 CER contract finished up 31 cents (7.2%) at € 4.59.

On BlueNext in Paris, the EUA spot contract gained 8 cents (1.2%) to € 6.88.

Source: ICE Futures Europe, BlueNext, EEX, Reuters