Euronext partners with Argus on Ukraine wheat futures

Market: Agriculture
28/01/21

European exchange Euronext has partnered with Argus over the launch of cash-settled Ukraine Black Sea wheat futures, head of commodities at Euronext Nicholas Kennedy said today at the Paris Grain Day event.

The product will be offered on Euronext's new cash-settled platform and will allow market participants to financially settle against an index rather than take physical delivery of the wheat traded.

Argus Ukraine wheat price assessments will be used to underpin settlement prices of the futures contracts. Argus assesses daily Ukraine wheat prices on fob and cpt bases, covering feed, 11.5pc and 12.5pc grades.

"For us it is clear that alongside our historic proxy for European wheat which has grown tremendously over the last few years and become the benchmark for European wheat, we have got to capture also the Ukrainian and Black Sea element and now we can actually do that", Kennedy said.

Euronext already has plans to launch durum wheat and feed barley cash-settled products on its new platform due for introduction this year, as part of a strategy to significantly expand its European agriculture derivatives service. Euronext's French milling wheat futures are already a key reference for European wheat markets.

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Port of Vancouver grinds to halt as picket lines form

05/11/24

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05/11/24

Port of Vancouver grinds to halt as picket lines form

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04/11/24

US railroad-labor contract talks heat up

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US biofuel feedstock use dips in August

31/10/24

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31/10/24

US biofuel feedstock use dips in August

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US court set to weigh biofuel blend mandates

31/10/24

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31/10/24

US court set to weigh biofuel blend mandates

New York, 31 October (Argus) — A US court on Friday will weigh some novel issues that could affect enforcement of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the federal program that sets minimum biofuel blending levels for domestic motor fuel supplies. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in last year's RFS regulation required refiners and importers to blend increasing volumes of renewable fuel from 2023-2025. But the rule differed from past obligations in a crucial way. While the RFS law set annual volume targets of cellulosic, advanced and conventional biofuels through 2022, it tasked EPA with setting volumes in subsequent years by balancing factors such as the environmental impacts of biofuels, energy security, expected production and consumer costs. 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In a separate case this year, the DC Circuit discarded EPA rejections of program waiver petitions, in part because judges disagreed that refiners can easily pass on the cost of Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits used to show compliance with the RFS program. EPA used this pass-through theory in the 2023-2025 rule "like a magic wand, waving it around to dismiss any argument that the rule will cause harm", the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers and small refineries said in a case filing. Lafferty expects the judges at Friday's hearing to probe the extent to which EPA's volumes relied on this pass-through theory, "a policy that now this very court has gutted." Environmentalists have similarly targeted EPA's cost analysis, arguing that the agency downplayed the environmental drawbacks of growing crops for energy. The Center for Biological Diversity and the National Wildlife Federation argue that EPA has legal discretion to set post-2022 volumes for corn- and soybean-derived biofuels as low as zero. EPA counters that the court owes the agency deference in evaluating scientific data and making predictive judgments. And biofuel groups that have intervened argue that the program is designed to require more biofuel production even if there are no formal volume requirements in law anymore. While EPA's post-2022 authority to set blend mandates is a new issue, the DC Circuit has handled various cases about EPA's implementation and has generally been deferential to the agency's volume decisions. The court this year upheld 2020-2022 targets. In a 2019 decision, the court kept volumes in place , despite telling EPA to more deeply weigh endangered species impacts. While the court might take issue with some aspects of EPA's latest rule, including the agency's lateness in finalizing volumes, judges could again be reluctant to upend fuel markets if they find only small oversights. Depending on how skeptical judges appear about EPA's arguments on Friday, the case could cause concern for biorefineries. A decision is expected next year, meaning any order for EPA to better justify its decisions or go back to the drawing board would likely fall to the next president's administration. On the panel for Friday's hearing are two judges familiar with the program: Democratic appointee Cornelia Pillard, who wrote the opinion this year upholding 2020-2022 blend mandates, and Republican appointee Gregory Katsas, who dissented and said those volumes were excessive. The third judge on the panel is Democratic appointee J. Michelle Childs. RINcrease or decrease RIN market activity has thinned as participants await the results of the court case and November's presidential election. In its latest rule, EPA aimed to provide a clearer picture over a longer timeline by finalizing volumes over multiple years. But the agency underestimated the growth in renewable diesel production, partly because of unexpectedly high feedstock imports. The result has been persistent oversupply, which took D4 biomass-based diesel credit prices from around 150¢/RIN in spring last year to as low as 42¢/RIN a year later according to Argus assessments. Multiple refiners have consequently dialed back biofuel production. In the past, RIN prices have proven sensitive to legal developments as traders anticipate supply and demand shifts. Prices softened this summer after the DC Circuit vacated small refinery waivers, leaving it unclear whether many facilities would have to buy RIN credits at all. By Cole Martin and Matthew Cope Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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