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Biomass Exchange review – May 2020
2020 06 16
Prices of woodchips reach the lowest level over the ETS history
In May, the price of woodchips at auctions of the Baltpool biomass exchange decreased by 1.6% compared to April and amounted to 111.99 EUR/TOE (9.63 EUR/MWh). In May, turnover increased by 28% from EUR 5.016 million to EUR 6.415 million. The increase was due to the increased turnover under half-year contracts. Quantities under half-year transactions increased by 104% from 14,400 TOE (167,472 GWh) to 29,376 TOE (341,643 GWh); their price also increased by 3% from 122.55 EUR/TOE (10.54 EUR/MWh) to 125 EUR/TOE (10.82 EUR/MWh). Compared to April, the quantities of woodchips under SPOT contracts have decreased by 39% from 16,290 TOE (304,869 GWh) to 9,906 TOE (189,453 GWh), with the price also decreasing by approximately 14% from 108.23 EUR/TOE (9.31 EUR/MWh) to 92.85 EUR/TOE (7.98 EUR/MWh).
In May, market participants purchased 57,000 TOE (115,207 GWh) of biomass at the biomass exchange, which was a 30% increase compared to April (43,782 TOE or 189,453 GWh). Most of the biomass (52%) was purchased under half-year contracts; 21% accounted for one-month contracts, 17% accounted for SPOT contracts and 10% were one-quarter contracts. As mentioned above, the weighted price under the concluded SPOT contracts for woodchips has decreased to 92.85 EUR/TOE (7.98 EUR/MWh) and thus reached the lowest price level for woodchips in the history of the ETS; the earlier lowest price, i.e. 102.79 EUR/TOE (8.84 EUR/MWh), was recorded in June 2016. Compared to the same period last year, the SPOT prices were nearly 21% lower in May this year (in May 2019, the price was 123.07 EUR/TOE or 10.58 EUR/MWh).
In May, the BWCS LT index dropped below the all-time record low figure recorded in April: by the end of May, the new figure was 93.66 EUR/TOE (8.05 EUR/MWh).
In May, the quantity of biomass delivered under contracts concluded at the Baltpool exchange decreased by almost 51% compared to April (38,247 TOE or 444,807 GWh). A total of 18,807 TOE (218,730 GWh) of biomass was delivered in May, which is a 15% decrease compared to May 2019 (257,523 GWh or 22,143 TOE). In May 2020, the price of delivered biomass was 100.76 EUR/TOE (8.66 EUR/MWh), which is a 12% decrease compared to the April price (114.78 EUR/TOE or 9.87 EUR/MWh). In May last year, biomass was delivered for a price that was 23% higher (124.17 EUR/TOE or 10.68 EUR/MWh) compared to May 2020. In May, biomass was normally delivered under SPOT contracts – these accounted for 73% of the delivered biomass; the remaining quantity accounted for one-month contracts (19%) and long-term contracts (7%).