The European Climate Exchange (ECX) saw another record day of trading volumes yesterday - its second record day so far this year. Total volumes reached 14,934 contracts on 22 January 2008, representing nearly 15 million tonnes of underlying CO2 EU allowances. This compares to an average daily volume of just over 4,000 contracts in 2007.
Average Daily Volume in ECX CFI Futures and Options Contracts for January 2008 currently stands at 7.6 million tonnes, an increase of 190% compared to January 2007.
Patrick Birley, Chief Executive of ECX, said "Liquidity continues to grow in ECX products and the record volumes seen in early 2008 are very encouraging. The carbon market is going through a period of heightened volatility and at times like this the availability of a transparent, liquid and easy to access trading platform is vitally important."
ECX contracts are listed and admitted to trading on ICE Futures Europe’s electronic platform. For more information about ECX, please visit www.ecx.eu.
About European Climate Exchange
The European Climate Exchange (ECX) manages the marketing and product development for ECX Carbon Financial Instruments (ECX CFIs), listed and admitted to trading on the ICE Futures Europe’s electronic platform. ECX contracts are standardised and all trades are cleared by LCH.Clearnet. More than 80 leading businesses have signed up for membership to trade ECX products. In addition, several hundred clients can access the market daily via banks and brokers. ECX / ICE Futures Europe is the most liquid, pan-European platform for carbon emissions trading, attracting over 80 % of the exchange-traded volume in the market.
ECX / ICE Futures emissions volumes for its EUA futures and options contracts are experiencing increasing growth. Since launch in April 2005, the EUA futures contract has seen over 1.5 billion tonnes CO2 traded with an underlying market value of €28 bn. The open interest currently stands at 148 million tonnes. ECX is a member of the Climate Exchange Plc group of companies. Other member companies include the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) and the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange (CCFE). Climate Exchange Plc (CLE) is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.ecx.eu