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’MF Global files for bankruptcy
There’s to be no last-minute deal to salvage MF Global: the futures brokerage and sometime European debt specialists filed for bankruptcy on Monday in New York. Click through to access the filing (H/T John Carney):
There’s always a silver lining…(even in a commodity rout)
And on Thursday that lining was apparent in the gasoline market.
As Stephen Schork of the Schork Report noted on Friday:
You know it has been a bad day when a 6.84 per cent drop can be described as the best performance of the complex,
Algo trading and the Nymex
On Thursday, Reuters reported a very interesting new statistic.
The proportion of trade driven by computers on the New York Mercantile Exchange (owned by the CME Group).
According to the CEO of the CME,
Brent’s got its problems too
We’ve documented the problems associated with the Nymex WTI crude contract regarding the onset of contango and Cushing syndrome in the US .
But as the CME Group — owner of the Nymex — has pointed out to us (in defence),
Chart du jour, commodity speculator edition
The ever watchful Sean Corrigan at Diapason Commodities drew our attention on Monday to the state of outright net speculative length in crude products on the Nymex.
Here’s the chart:
The chart shows the value of all net speculative length in crude-related products on the Nymex charted against combined implied daily demand.
CFTC targets funds in position-limit clampdown
The oil markets have been waiting for it since the summer of 2009; some players have even acted in anticipation already.
But it wasn’t until Thursday that the commodity world got details of what the CFTC really had in mind in terms of increased regulation of energy markets,
The bearish bit in the EIA stock data
Nymex WTI futures — which had fallen below $70 per barrel earlier in the week — staged a solid comeback on Wednesday after EIA figures posted greater-than-expected crude draws for the week.
Nevertheless prices were trending lower again on Thursday:
Is Cushing souring up the oil market?
Last week both Nymex and ICE began trading brand new oil futures linked to the Argus’ new Sour Crude Index — the ASCI.
The exchanges developed the futures in response to Saudi Aramco abandoning the Platts WTI benchmark in favour of the Argus sour benchmark back in October.
Doth a global natgas glut come (already)?
FT Alphaville has written a lot about Nymex Henry Hub natgas futures prices and the supply glut potentially being formed in the US market.
We’ve not, however, touched upon the UK market quite as much.
The CME’s sour
Just two days after Saudi Aramco decided to change the way it prices its oil – by abandoning the Platts WTI benchmark in favour of Argus Petroleum’s Sour Crude Index – the CME, owner of the Nymex exchange,
Saudis drop WTI oil contract
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday decided to drop the widely used West Texas Intermediate oil contract as the benchmark for pricing its oil, dealing a serious blow to the New York Mercantile Exchange. The move by the world’s biggest oil exporter could encourage other producers to abandon the benchmark and threaten the dominance of the most heavily-traded oil futures contract.
Electronic trading and commodity prices
Yes, everyone — bar the old open outcry pit traders — loves electronic trading in commodities.
Ahead of this week’s CFTC hearings on position limits and speculator influence on prices, however, have the commodity regulators perhaps forgotten to question the obvious? That is,
WTI crude futures settle above $70 per barrel
Nymex WTI crude futures settled just above $70 per barrel on Tuesday for the first time since November 2008.
The move higher was accompanied by a fall in the dollar index, marking a return to the dollar-oil negative correlation which had started to weaken over the last week.
Platts versus the rest of the energy trading world
Platts, a key assessor of physical energy prices, appears to be treading on some thin industry ice.
Energy traders are reportedly up in arms over the group’s planned changes to its pricing methodology which would see it move the timing of some of its US over-the-counter assessments to 3.15 pm from 2.30pm US central time. Platts’ reasoning for the move is as follows:
Anything but therm in the US
Natural gas prices in the United States are falling, and falling much more than usual. The benchmark Henry Hub contract traded on Nymex closed at six-year lows of $3.840 per mmBtu on Tuesday, even despite below-average temperatures which are usually supportive to prices.
Hello Americas Sour
There have been well documented problems in the Nymex WTI contract of late, the chief concern being the contract’s viability as a global benchmark following sharp fluctuations in its price versus other oil grades.
Whatever happened to speculator limits on Nymex?
Stephen Schork of the Schork report highlights a response, as received from a reader, to his Wednesday point on the USO ETF:
A response to our USO observation from a client…
re: USO – they are NOT a hedger – why they are allowed to exceed the spec levels is beyond me – oh wait yeah NYMEX [now CME] and ICE love the volume and fees it gets from the USO trading…
Rollover, rollover WTI
Just in case there was any confusion, WTI may be at $40.72 per barrel and Brent at $46.24 per barrel but it doesn’t mean there’s major pricing discrepancy.
Brent’s front-month contract has already rolled into the February,
Nymex takeover wins approval
The CME Group enhanced its position as the world’s largest financial exchange on Monday by winning member approval for its $7.6bn takeover of Nymex, the New York energy exchange, creating a company that will dominate the US derivatives sector with control of 98% of listed futures.
Dubai exchange to unveil stake sale
The Dubai Mercantile Exchange, a joint venture between Oman, Dubai and the New York Mercantile Exchange, is poised to announce later on Monday the sale of a stake in the bourse, reports Reuters. Industry sources had said in May the DME planned to sell up to 20% of itself to help boost liquidity and attract more international players.
Doubts grow over CME move for Nymex
The CME Group’s attempt to enhance its position as the world’s biggest financial exchange by taking over Nymex is looking increasingly likely to be derailed by shareholder opposition. Any deal must be approved by at least three-quarters of Nymex’s membership,
Clearers battle for UK energy markets
London’s vast energy markets could be damaged if a looming battle for control of liquidity in its energy contracts were to get out of hand, the Futures and Options Association warned Wednesday. The Intercontinental Exchange,
CME seals $9.4bn Nymex deal
The CME Group on Monday finalised a deal to buy Nymex for $9.4bn in cash and shares, cementing its position as the world’s biggest exchange. The deal will create a company that controls about 98% of US-listed futures and offers contracts on a wide range of underlying commodities and events such as interest rates,
Chicago Merc nears Nymex deal
Chicago Mercantile Exchange parent CME Group may finalise plans as early as next week to buy energy-exchange operator Nymex, reports the WSJ. The exclusive talks between the two derivatives-markets operators have intensified since late January,
CME and Nymex extend exclusive talks
The CME Group, the world’s biggest futures exchange, said Monday night that it was extending exclusive talks to buy Nymex, the New York exchange. The CME – born last year from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s $11bn takeover of the Chicago Board of Trade – announced last month it was in talks to buy the Nymex.
CME considers improving Nymex offer
CME Group is considering improving its bid for the Nymex as it seeks to create the world’s biggest exchange. The CME – already the world’s biggest futures exchange – last month announced 30-day exclusive talks to buy the New York energy exchange,
Clearing reform doubts lift CME
Reform of the way US futures contracts are cleared is unlikely to happen for at least five years, analysts said Thursday, as the US Treasury distanced itself from a call by the Department of Justice for reform of the futures clearing system,
CME’s Nymex bid set to trigger battles
The CME Group’s $11.3bn bid for energy exchange Nymex is facing opposition from within the derivatives industry over concerns that it will create a dominant exchange with excessive pricing power. The