New Zealand spot carbon price slumps to three-month low

New Zealand carbon prices feel to their lowest level in three months as the market stalled ahead of the deadline of surrender of pollution permits and weaker international carbon prices.

Spot permits under the NZ ETS softened around NZD0.20 over the week, trading in a NZD19.70-20.00 (US$16.12-16.37) range, Westpac Bank said in a note to clients. The brokers added that around 250,000 NZUs were traded over the period, a low not seen for five weeks. “The softening price appear to have been driven by buyers backing off their demand for credits,” analysts at Westpac said. However, the price also came under pressure by Europe’s bearish commodity market, a rising NZ dollar and a falling euro, narrowing the spread between New Zealand and European carbon prices.