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EU Carbon Pares Losses as Virus Threatens Trading Registries
2010-11-26 17:54:13.298 GMT
By Mathew Carr and Ewa Krukowska
Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon permits pared
losses as Germany and other regulators said trading registries
that track ownership of the allowances may have been attacked by
a computer virus named Nimkey.
EU permits for spot delivery declined 5 cents, or 0.3
percent, to 15.05 euros ($19.91) a metric ton on the BlueNext
exchange in Paris. They earlier dropped to 14.90 euros a ton,
the lowest level since Nov. 23. They rose 0.8 percent in the
week and 22 percent so far this year.
Germany's registry said it blocked transactions until Dec.
3, after reports that access data were stolen from users of
other European emissions trading registries with the help of
Nimkey, a so-called Trojan virus, according to the website of
DEHSt, the registry in Berlin. The EU carbon market is the
world's biggest.
Any blockage of the nation's registry during Dec. 1 would
probably cause "serious difficulties" for traders seeking
delivery on that day, said Louis Redshaw, head of environmental
markets for Barclays Capital in London.
The majority of over-the-counter forward contracts are for
delivery that day, he said today by phone. "The danger is other
registries may also block transactions during this time,"
further restricting delivery options, he said. Germany's
blockage may not prevent all deals, Julie Steinen, a spokeswoman
for DEHSt, said in an interview.
Unable to Send
"The suspension of transactions in the German registry
means that users can receive emissions certificates from
accounts at other foreign registries, but they won't be able to
send certificates from their accounts until the moment the
suspension ends," Steinen said.
The Belgian registry said on its website it was temporarily
unavailable and access to accounts will remain blocked "until
further information is received on the possible impact" of the
virus. The Dutch registry also suspended access. Other national
registries in the EU cap-and-trade, including Denmark, Poland,
Portugal and the U.K., urged operators to remain cautious and
review their security measures.
"We ask you to make sure that your computer is not
affected before a future log in to the registry," DEHSt said on
its website.
Transactions will be blocked until 6 p.m. local time on
Dec. 3, DEHSt said. The registry is offline since yesterday and
won't be online before 8 a.m. on Nov. 29, it said.
For Related News and Information:
Top renewable energy, power stories: GREEN <GO>, PTOP <GO>
Bloomberg glossary of emissions terminology: IDOC 2059757 <GO>
Emissions menu, prices: EMIS <GO>, EMIT <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Stephen Cunningham
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net;
Ewa Krukowska in Warsaw at +32-2-237-4331 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
