LONDON -- 10 December 2010
IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global regulated futures exchanges, clearing houses and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, announced it will launch an Indonesian sub-bituminous coal contract on ICE Futures Europe in the early part of 2011, subject to regulatory approval. The contract will be cash settled against the IHS McCloskey Indonesian Sub-Bituminous FOB marker. The contracts will be traded in multiples of 1000 tonnes, with a minimum price fluctuation of $0.05.
David Peniket, President and COO, ICE Futures Europe said: "We are pleased to respond to the needs of our market participants for hedging and risk management tools by building on our global coal complex including ICE’s existing international seaborne contracts, Rotterdam, Richard’s Bay and Newcastle.”
The Indonesian sub-bituminous contracts will complement the existing utilities markets offered by ICE Futures Europe, including emissions, natural gas and electricity futures contracts. Margin offsets will be made available. The cleared coal market is growing rapidly and this year will exceed 1 billion tonnes.
IHS McCloskey and IHS McCloskey Indonesian Sub-Bituminous FOB marker are trade marks of IHS Global Limited. All copyrights and database rights in the IHS McCloskey Indonesian Sub-Bituminous FOB marker belong exclusively to IHS Global Limited. All rights reserved.
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 1 December 2010
globalCOAL® announced today that New South Wales’ Bengalla Coal Sales Company Pty Ltd has joined the globalCOAL trading platform as a Market Member.
Bengalla Coal Sales Company is owned at 40% by Coal and Allied Industries Ltd and at 40% by Wesfarmers Ltd, both of which are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. The Bengalla mine is located four kilometres south-west of Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales and supplies international markets with up to six million tonnes of thermal coal per annum.
“Bengalla’s addition to the globalCOAL Membership gives yet another boost to the number of participants on the trading platform involved in Australia’s Newcastle coal market,” says Patrick Markey of globalCOAL in Singapore. “This market continues to grow with over 13 million tonnes traded on the globalCOAL screen year-to-date in 2010, giving ever increasing support to the robustness of the globalCOAL NEWC Index.”
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 29 November 2010
globalCOAL and London Commodity Brokers (LCB) are pleased to announce that all disputes between them have been amicably resolved.
The High Court's June 2010 judgment on the true meaning of “use” within the Product Licensing Agreement (PLA) stands, and LCB has withdrawn its appeal of that judgment and its competition claims. globalCOAL has withdrawn its claims regarding alleged breaches of the PLA by LCB.
Eoghan Cunningham, CEO of globalCOAL, and Clive Murray, Managing Director of LCB, stated: “We are pleased to put this dispute behind us and concentrate on the development of the market."
globalCOAL will be working closely with LCB and other brokers to foster liquidity and transparency in the international steam coal market, which will benefit all participants.
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 19 November 2010
globalCOAL® announced today that HC Trading Malta Ltd, Lubelski Wegiel Bogdanka S.A., Hess Energy Power & Gas Company and Traxys Europe S.A, have all joined the globalCOAL trading community as Market Members.
HC Trading is a subsidiary of the HeidelbergCement Group, a leading manufacturer of aggregates, cement and concrete listed on the Deutsche Borse. As the group’s trading arm, HC Trading is one of the largest international trading houses for cement and clinker in the world, with offices in Istanbul, Malta, Fort Lauderdale, Singapore, Shanghai and Dubai.
As one of Poland’s leading thermal coal producers, Lubelski Wegiel Bogdanka produced more than 5 million tonnes of coal in 2009. It operates one of the largest and most advanced mines in the Lubelskie Coal Basin and expects to grow its share of the Polish thermal coal market to 12% by 2014.
Hess is an independent energy company involved in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the refining and marketing of refined petroleum products, natural gas and electricity. Hess is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Traxys is a global leader in financing, marketing, distribution and financial services for the mining, metals and minerals industries. Founded in 2003, Traxys today has 260 employees in more than 20 global locations.
“We are delighted to welcome this quartet of coal market participants to the globalCOAL trading community”, said Eoghan Cunningham, CEO of globalCOAL. “As four very diverse organisations, they reflect the breadth of our membership while corroborating globalCOAL’s appeal across a wide spectrum of coal market players.”
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 1 November 2010
ICE globalCOAL Newcastle Futures traded at record levels in October 2010. With 14,455 lots cleared (equivalent to 14.5 million tonnes of coal), the contract exceeded the previous record of 13,790 lots established in March this year, and saw volume increase 63.5% on September.
“It’s another milestone for the globalCOAL ICE Newcastle contract, which last year traded a total of 62 million tonnes,” said Eoghan Cunningham of globalCOAL. “We are now on track to double this in 2010.”
“Credit risk mitigation has cleared the way for new players to participate in financial coal,” Cunningham added. “This is especially benefiting growth in the Asia-Pacific market, where the need for coal price risk management is increasing but there are fewer established credit relationships.”
Overall volume in the ICE Coal Futures portfolio was on the increase in October with a total of 94,684 lots traded – the highest volume since April 2010 and up 76% on September. Open interest in the ICE Coal Futures contract also increased to reach 118,673 lots at month end.
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 25 October 2010
globalCOAL® announced today that the French financial group and investment bank Société Générale has joined the globalCOAL trading platform as a Market Member.
Société Générale is one of the largest financial institutions in France, with activities in retail banking; specialist financing and insurance; private banking and asset management; and corporate and investment banking. Société Générale is present in 83 countries and is listed on NYSE-Euronext.
“The contingent of investment banks on the globalCOAL platform continues to increase,” notes Eoghan Cunningham, CEO of globalCOAL. “It’s a good indication that coal continues to be perceived as a significant trading opportunity for financial institutions, and one all the more attractive with the benefits brought about by clearing.”
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 14 October 2010
globalCOAL® announced today that Australian power producer Macquarie Generation has joined the globalCOAL trading platform as a Market Member.
A State-owned corporation, Macquarie Generation is a producer and wholesaler of electricity to the National Electricity Market in Australia. Through its two power stations Liddell and Bayswater, it produces approximately 15% of the electricity consumed in Eastern Australia. Macquarie Generation is the largest domestic buyer of Hunter Valley Coal.
“We’re pleased to see our Australian membership growing with this new addition, which is particularly significant as it is the first Australian power producer to join the globalCOAL platform. Suppliers are increasingly looking to price coal into the domestic market with reference to the globalCOAL NEWC Index®,” said Patrick Markey of globalCOAL.
“In addition, globalCOAL is continuing to expand its product suite in Australia by adding a new specification to its standard contract SCoTA®, which will enable its users to trade coal delivered FOB at the NCIG port. Our intent is to increase optionality for NEWC market participants, and therefore improve liquidity.” Markey added.
The new FOB NCIG specification will be released as part of SCoTA v.7d on 24 October 2010.
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 14 October 2010
Aiming to improve transparency and increase liquidity in the Indonesian coal market, globalCOAL will be launching a revised version of the INDO C spec in the Standard Coal Trading Agreement (SCoTA®).
In its updated form, INDO C will be priced on a 4,900 kcal/kg NAR basis, with minimum CV set at 4,600. In addition, specifications for maximum Selenium, Boron and Calcium Oxide will be removed, maximum Nitrogen will be increased to 2.4% and minimum IDT will be lowered. It is expected that this modification will significantly increase the range of coals which can be delivered into the INDO C contract, and bring it in line with Korean and Chinese purchasing patterns.
“The main objective of this revision is to bring more sellers and more buyers to the INDO C market,” explains James Meredith, Contract Manager at globalCOAL. “The more physical trades go through the globalCOAL platform, the more transparent data points are available to strengthen market indices for sub-bit coal.”
Physical contract index-linked to IHS McCloskey Indonesian Sub-Bituminous FOB marker
Responding to the need for better risk management tools for the Indonesian market, globalCOAL will also be introducing a new screen-traded contract which will enable market participants to trade INDO C coal priced against the IHS McCloskey Indonesian Sub-Bituminous FOB marker.
“The INDO C revision brings the physical specifications in line with those of IHS McCloskey,” says Eoghan Cunningham, CEO of globalCOAL. “This means physical trade data can be seamlessly fed into the index, and the index becomes more effective as a settlement mechanism and as a tool for price risk management.”
The new INDO C specification will be introduced as part of version 7d of SCoTA which will go live at 18.00 (London time) on 24 October 2010.
IHS McCloskey and IHS McCloskey Indonesian Sub-Bituminous FOB marker are trade marks of IHS Global Limited. All copyrights and database rights in the IHS McCloskey Indonesian Sub-Bituminous FOB marker belong exclusively to IHS Global Limited. All rights reserved.
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 11 October 2010
ICE Futures Europe® is set to introduce new Coal Options contracts to complement its world-class suite of coal price risk management tools.
The new products, which will consist of monthly options contracts for Rotterdam, Richards Bay and Newcastle, will be launched on 8 November 2010.
The Coal Options contracts will be equity-style European options, where the buyer pays the full value of the premium upon execution. Unless the buyer chooses to abandon, the option will be automatically exercised on expiry if it is one tick or more in-the-money against the day’s official settlement price of the equivalent futures contract. At-the-money options will expire and will not be automatically exercised.
A range of 61 strike prices at US$1.00 intervals will be automatically listed, providing coal market participants the widest available listed market for options. At launch, up to 60 consecutive months will be offered, starting January 2011. Mirroring existing ICE Coal Futures products the Options contracts will be 1,000 tonnes in size with a minimum fluctuation of US$0.01 per tonne.
“This is an additional tool in the risk manager’s toolbox, and a considerable one” said Eoghan Cunningham, CEO of globalCOAL. “The availability of cleared options across the three major coal hubs could significantly boost the size of the options market as risk managers take advantage of counterparty default risk mitigation.”
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 28 September 2010
In a move that will provide significant capital efficiencies for coal market participants, ICE Futures Europe® is introducing an array of new margin offsets for its world-class suite of ICE Coal Futures contracts.
The new offsets, which will become effective at close of business on Wednesday 29 September 2010, will significantly reduce the total amount of collateral which needs to be posted by companies holding positions both in coal and in a number of commodities across the energy spectrum. More specifically, new offsets will be provided against Henry Hub Gas, UK Base Electricity, Brent 1st Line Swap, and three fuel oil contracts. In addition, the ICE globalCOAL NEWC contract will now also be offset against Dutch TTF and UK NBP gas contracts.
The new structure complements offsets already in place for emissions (EUA and CER), Crude (Brent and WTI), and between other coal contracts.
Eoghan Cunningham, CEO of globalCOAL, commented: “The new offsets truly strengthen ICE’s offering in the coal arena for the multitude of trading firms with activities across the energy complex. It is undeniably the place to do business for coal market participants.”
Note to editors: Margin offsets for futures are credits to initial margin requirements on positions held by Clearing Members. Margin offsets reduce the total amount of collateral that must be pledged by the Clearing Member to the Clearing House.
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 18 August 2010
Switzerland-based KI Energy Trading today became the newest Market Member to join the globalCOAL® trading platform.
KI Energy Trading is a full-owned subsidiary of Kulczyk Investments, an international investment company focused on energy-related industries such as oil & gas, mineral resources, infrastructure, power generation, and power and gas distribution and trading.
KI Energy Trading focuses on trading of various energy products in both Western and Eastern European Energy markets. Its high level strategy is not only to develop a pan-European electricity trading company, but an international cross commodity energy trading and portfolio optimisation company.
“We are delighted to see a steady stream of new participants enter the coal market in search of trading opportunities,” said Eoghan Cunningham, CEO of globalCOAL. “These new entities are contributing to growing liquidity, both in physical and financial markets.”
KI Energy Trading will engage in active trading of coal, gas, electricity and CO2. The trading desk is headed by Michael Wilson, formerly of ATEL Energy AG, supported in coal trading by Stig Rasmussen, previously at DONG Energy.
“KI Energy Trading is proud to join globalCOAL,” said Michael Wilson. “We believe that this membership will create new business for our company and will add value to our energy portfolio. Our team is looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 11 June 2010
globalCOAL® confirmed today that the Honourable Mr Justice Briggs has handed down his judgment in the High Court in London in favour of globalCOAL in its second dispute in 3 years with London Commodity Brokers (LCB).
The High Court accepted globalCOAL's case on the true meaning and effect of the Product Licensing Agreement (PLA) and rejected LCB's case that the PLA was limited just to protecting intellectual property rights. globalCOAL will be seeking costs.
“We were surprised to have to go to court yet again considering the existing court order restraining LCB,” said Eoghan Cunningham, Chief Executive of globalCOAL. “We are however determined to continue to vigorously defend our scheme against abuses, as we have ably demonstrated in the past. This judgment makes clear that our licensing regime is robust. Looking forward, we are continuing to invest in the development of new products and contracts to bring added liquidity and transparency to the market, which will benefit all participants.”
globalCOAL is the provider of the coal market’s leading online trading platform, and the originator of SCoTA®, the coal market’s most widely-used contract for the sale and purchase of standardised thermal coal.
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 3 June 2010
Seoul-based utility Korea East West Power Co., Ltd. today became the 100th Market Member to join the globalCOAL® trading community.
“This is an exciting milestone for us”, declared Patrick Markey of globalCOAL in Singapore, “and one that truly symbolizes globalCOAL’s ever-expanding reach across the world’s major coal producing and consuming nations. globalCOAL has grown tremendously from a mere 50 members in early 2006 to today’s 100, and we are delighted to see that a significant proportion of that growth continues to stem from the Asian-Pacific region.”
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Korea East West Power operates six power plants and accounts for 13.1% of Korea's power generation capacity. The company runs a total of 37 power units, twelve of which are coal-fired.
Korea East West Power is the first Korean power utility to subscribe with globalCOAL, and it joins LG International Corp. as globalCOAL's second Korea-based Market Member.
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 4 May 2010
A new record was established in April, as ICE Coal Futures volumes exceeded all previous levels with over 146 million tonnes (146,445 lots) cleared via ICE Clear Europe®. This volume is a full 37.7 million tonnes above the previous record of 108,730 lots established in January this year, and 2.7 times as much as traded in April 2009.
At contract level, the ICE Rotterdam contract traded in record volumes, at 97 million tonnes. The Richards Bay and Newcastle coal Futures contracts traded a respective 36 and 12.8 million tonnes. These are the second highest monthly volumes for both of the FOB contracts.
Open interest across the portfolio also rose to record levels, closing the month just under 126 million tonnes. This compares to 51 million tonnes at the end of April 2009, a growth of 144% year on year.
“The current volatility we are seeing in coal prices is pushing more and more participants towards the financial coal market,” said Eoghan Cunningham, CEO of globalCOAL. “This intrinsic growth is also being facilitated by clearing, enabling all market players, whether hedger or speculator, to mitigate their counterparty credit risk as they build up activity in the coal market.”
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 15 April 2010
The ICE Coal Futures portfolio set a new record on the 14th of April, 2010 by trading 15,410 lots – over 15 million tonnes of coal – in a single day.
The ICE Rotterdam Coal Futures contract took the lion’s share of this volume as 13,665 lots were cleared via ICE Clear Europe® – marking an all-time high for the product. The ICE Richards Bay and globalCOAL ICE Newcastle contracts respectively traded 1,415 and 330 lots that day.
The market for ICE Coal Futures has been vibrant in April, with three days registering volumes above the 10 million tonne mark. As of April 14th, 71,870 lots had been traded.
The ICE Futures Europe® coal Futures offering currently consists of three financially-settled Futures contracts for Rotterdam, Richards Bay and Newcastle. It is the only actively traded suite of international coal Futures contract worldwide.
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 8 April 2010
globalCOAL® announced today that Tokyo-based Sumitomo Corporation has joined the globalCOAL trading platform as a Market Member.
Sumitomo Corporation is one of Japan's leading trading houses with over 5,000 employees across its 26 domestic and 120 international offices. The company is involved in the provision, import and export of a wide breadth of products and services from sectors as far ranging as metals, transportation, construction equipment, infrastructure, chemicals, electronics, and resources and energy, as well as finance and logistics. Sumitomo Corporation is listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka Stock Exchanges.
"Sumitomo Corporation is one of the largest sogo shosha in Japan and a significant addition to the globalCOAL Market Membership," said Patrick Markey of globalCOAL in Singapore. "The steady growth of globalCOAL's Japanese Market Membership is an encouraging indication of the development of standardised coal trading in Asia in general, and the potential for globalCOAL's CIF Japan initiative in particular."
Sumitomo Corporation is globalCOAL's thirteenth Japan-based Market Member.
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 1 April 2010
globalCOAL® announced today that the gC ICE Newcastle Futures contract broke all previously established monthly record volumes by trading 13,790 lots in March 2010, the equivalent of more than 13 million tonnes of coal.
This is a noteworthy performance for the most recent addition to the ICE Futures Europe® suite of coal contracts, representing 84% growth on February volumes and a significant 2.7Mt increase on the contract’s prior all-time-high, set in January 2010.
As a whole, the ICE Coal Futures portfolio also experienced strong results with a total of 103,795 lots cleared by ICE Clear Europe® in March. This is the second highest volume to date following January’s 108,730 lot record performance. Illustrating the ICE coal portfolio’s stellar growth, March 2010 volumes surpassed the average monthly volume of 2009 by 100%.
Open interest also climbed to its highest level to date, reaching 115,521 lots on March 25th.
Eoghan Cunningham, CEO of globalCOAL, said: “The marked increased in volume for the gC ICE NEWC contract is a valuable reflection of two important trends: firstly, the strong performance of economies in Asia – most notably China – relative to the West; and secondly, the continued growing acceptance of the globalCOAL NEWC Index as the price reference for coals of various qualities and delivery points across Asia. Hedging is becoming a necessity rather than a luxury for market participants involved in the Pacific coal trade, a fact that bodes well for sustained growth in liquidity for the gC ICE NEWC Futures.”
ICE Futures Europe’s coal Futures offering currently consists of three financially-settled Futures contracts for Rotterdam, Richards Bay and Newcastle – the only actively traded suite of international coal Futures contract worldwide.
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 29 March 2010
globalCOAL® announced today that Jakarta-based PT Bayan Resources Tbk has joined the globalCOAL trading platform as a Market Member.
The Bayan Group produces coal ranging from semi-soft coking coal to environmentally-friendly low sulphur, sub-bituminous coal from mines located primarily in East and South Kalimantan. The company also owns coal loading infrastructure including the Balikpapan Coal Terminal in East Kalimantan, with a throughput capacity of 15 million tonnes per annum, and the Kalimantan Floating Transfer station.
“As one of the major producers and exporters of coal in Indonesia, we are proud to welcome the Bayan Group as a noteworthy addition to our Membership”, said Patrick Markey of globalCOAL. “With the important efforts we have invested in updating and developing globalCOAL’s INDO contracts, we look forward to continuing growth in participation from players in Indonesia and elsewhere in Asia.”
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 25 February 2010
globalCOAL® announced today that it will be hosting a discussion forum with major Japanese coal market participants in Tokyo on Friday 5th of March. The forum will discuss the incorporation of a CIF JAPAN Relevant Standard Specification (RSS) to globalCOAL’s Standard Coal Trading Agreement (SCoTA®) – the world’s most prolifically traded international coal contract.
The CIF JAPAN contract will standardise coal specifications from China, Indonesia, Russia, Australia and South Africa and will be priced on the basis 6,000 kcal/kg NAR with delivery to the Western Setouchi area of Japan. The price of coal for deliveries to areas outside Western Setouchi will be adjusted back to Western Setouchi as the reference point.
The benefits of the CIF Japan contract to the Japanese coal consumers are:
1. An additional procurement option to help optimise the management of coal and freight requirements
2. An alternative price reference specifically designed and directly affected by the conditions of the Japanese market
3. A reliable, transparent index based on real time bids, offers and trades
4. A reliable index to help coal consumers manage price risk exposure using derivatives
5. Potential arbitrage opportunities with FOB contracts
“This is a significant step towards a broader participation of Japanese coal consumers and trading houses in international spot markets”, said James Meredith, SCoTA Contract Manager for globalCOAL. “The feedback gathered at this discussion forum will be instrumental in delivering a tradeable contract which could be launched by the end of the year.”
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 19 February 2010
globalCOAL® announced today that Frankfurt-based Cemcor Energy Trading GmbH has joined the globalCOAL trading platform as a Market Member.
Cemcor Energy Trading is an independent originator and marketer of natural gas, coal and emission rights. The company’s core activity is in the supply of South African and Russian steam coal to industrial and utility customers throughout Europe. It also operates across various natural gas virtual trading points as well as the global CO2 emissions market.
“We are pleased to welcome Cemcor Energy Trading to the globalCOAL trading platform”, said Eoghan Cunningham, CEO of globalCOAL. “The company’s experience as a physical coal trader and its involvement in gas and emissions markets make it a great addition to our Membership.”
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LONDON AND SINGAPORE – 1 February 2010
The ICE Coal Futures portfolio experienced all-time record volumes in the month of January, with 108,730 lots (equivalent to over 108 million tonnes of coal) cleared via ICE Clear Europe®. The month’s volumes eclipsed the previous record of 89,040 lots established in June 2009 by over 22%.
The gC ICE Newcastle contract performed particularly well, surpassing for the first time the 10Mt mark with 11,135 lots traded. The record volume represents 3 times the volume traded in December 2009, and a 66% increase on the previous record of 6,710 lots established in November 2009.
The ICE Rotterdam and Richards Bay Coal Futures contracts also traded in record volumes, with 65,790 and 31,805 lots cleared respectively.
Open interest across the portfolio continued to climb, closing the month above 111Mt.
Eoghan Cunningham, CEO of globalCOAL, said: “The increased volatility in coal prices witnessed across January has without a doubt emphasised the traders’ need to hedge and ICE Coal Futures remain the most effective way to manage price risk both for existing players and the new entrants to the coal market. These early results bode well for continued growth in the liquidity of the ICE Coal Futures contracts.”
ICE Futures Europe’s coal Futures offering currently consists of three financially-settled Futures contracts for Rotterdam, Richards Bay and Newcastle – the only actively traded international coal Futures contract worldwide.
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London and Singapore - 22 January 2010
globalORE aims to reproduce the success of globalCOAL by working with the market to develop the key elements to a commoditised trading environment: a standard contract with defined quality specifications, an online trading platform, and the brokerage services necessary to support the development of the market.
For more information, please visit the globalORE website: www.globalore.net
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