Biomass Exchange review – April 2020

Prices of woodchips reach the summer 2015 price level
In April, the price of woodchips at the Baltpool biomass exchange auctions decreased by only 1.5% compared to March and was 113.78 EUR/TOE (9.78 EUR/MWh). The turnover decreased only slightly in April – from EUR 5.825 million to EUR 5.016 million; the decrease was due to the decreased turnover under SPOT contracts. Compared to March, the quantities of woodchips under SPOT contracts have decreased by 38% from 26,214 TOE (304.868 GWh) to 16,290 TOE (189.453 GWh), with the price also decreasing by approximately 9% from 119.52 EUR/TOE (10.28 EUR/MWh) to 108.23 EUR/TOE (9.31 EUR/MWh).
In April, market participants purchased 43,917 TOE (510.75 GWh) of biomass at the biomass exchange, which was less compared to March (49,862 TOE or 576.41 GWh). The greatest share (37%) was purchased under SPOT contracts; 16% accounted for one-month contracts, 14% accounted for one-quarter contracts and 33% were half-year contracts. As mentioned above, the weighted price under the concluded SPOT contracts for woodchips decreased to 108.23 EUR/TOE (9.31 EUR/MWh) in April and therefore reached the woodchip prices recorded in the summer of 2015 (in July and August 2015, the prices of woodchips were 108.25 EUR/TOE (9.31 EUR/MWh) and 107.41 EUR/TOE (9.24 EUR/MWh) respectively). Compared to the same period last year, the SPOT prices were nearly 20% lower in April this year (in April 2019, the price was 134.71 EUR/TOE or 11.58 EUR/MWh).
In April, the BWCS LT index dropped even more than the all-time record low figure recorded in March: by the end of April, the new record figure of 97.63 EUR/TOE (8.39 EUR/MWh) was recorded.
In April, the demand for biomass under transactions concluded at the Baltpool exchange decreased by nearly 34% compared to March (48,186 TOE or 560.41 GWh). A total of 31,995 TOE (372.107 GWh) of biomass was delivered in April, which was a 14.5 % decrease compared to April 2019 (435.369 GWh or 37,435 TOE). Compared to March (135.95 EUR/TOE and 11.67 EUR/MWh), the price of the biomass delivered in April 2020 has decreased by 14.4% (116.39 EUR/TOE or 10.01 EUR/MWh). In April 2019, biomass was delivered for a price that was 16.8% higher (116.39 EUR/TOE or 12.03 EUR/MWh) compared to April 2020. Most of the biomass delivered in April was delivered under SPOT contracts – these accounted for 74% of the total delivered biomass, and the remaining share was supplied under one-month (18%) and long-term (8%) contracts.

Please find Baltpool Biomass Exchange review – April 2020 =>>