Coal Markets and Risk Management

This intensive and interactive course focuses on how the international coal markets are developing. The course identifies the price risks involved and the use of OTC and exchange traded instruments in managing these risks. You will explore both the physical and paper markets and review the different trading procedures available and the profiles of different participants in the market.

Course Information

Price £1,850 + VAT
Duration 2 days
Location London
Available Dates
Dec 10 2024  Register Now

Who Should Attend

Anyone who is affected by the changes in the international price of coal

  • Energy industry personnel working in supply, trading, risk management, refining, finance, transport, exploration and production
  • Coal trading and distribution companies
  • Energy-related government departments and regulators
  • Purchasing, planning, and finance departments in major energy consumers
  • Energy publications
  • Bankers, accountants, auditors and others associated with energy companies and energy financing

Booking Information

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7065 7706

Course Content

DAY 1

SESSION I

Introduction and the physical coal market

  • Coal varieties and qualities
  • Main steam coal producers, importers and exporters
  • Steam coal physical flows and evolution

SESSION II

The steam coal derivatives market

  • Main products traded: history, trading volumes
  • Definition and methodology of main indices and futures
  • Market structure: principals, brokers, exchanges
  • New products recently launched

SESSION Ill

Coal derivatives trading examples

  • Practical usage of derivatives for suppliers, end users, traders
  • Hedging and arbitrage
  • Trading strategies - Group Based Activity

DAY 2

SESSION I

Clearing and the coal market

  • The credit crisis and the benefits of clearing for the coal market
  • Cleared coal volume trends
  • The clearing process and its participants: exchange, clearing house, clearing members
  • How does an ICE cleared transaction differ from an OTC trade?
  • Cash flow illustration
  • Potential pitfalls to avoid

SESSION II

Forward curve and price forecast

  • Difference between forward curve and price forecast
  • The different shapes of forward curve: contango vs backwardation
  • Historical coal forward curves and links with the physical market
  • Trading the forward curve: Group Based Activity

SESSION III

Introduction to financial options in the coal market

  • Status of the option market: historical volumes, types of options
  • Example of call and put options
  • Live demonstration of the Black Scholes model
  • Application to the physical market

SESSION IV

Introduction to other commodities directly relevant to coal trading

  • The physical dry freight market: vessel size, and pricing
  • Main dry commodity flows: iron ore, coking coal, grains
  • The financial freight market: indices and market structure (principals, brokers, exchanges).
  • Emissions certificates, dark-spreads and spark-spread