UK
Emissions traders to miss out on commodities bonuses
15 September 2006
Two thirds of London commodities traders are on track to receive higher bonuses in 2006. But the outlook for emissions traders is not so healthy.
With another three months to go, 50% of traders surveyed by recruitment firm Commodities Appointments say they’ve already met or exceeded their profit target for 2006. And another 17% say they expect to before the year is out.
Jakob Bloch, managing director of Commodities Appointments, says traders’ bullish expectations is unsurprising - 2006 has been a good year. “Volatility in the oil market has positively impacted the other energy markets. Bonuses will be up, with the energy commodities leading the way.”
However, a not insignificant 33% of the 240 poll respondents say they’re not expecting to meet this year’s targets, implying pay will be down. Bloch says some of this group are likely to be emissions traders, who suffered after the CO2 market plummeted in May.
“The emissions market still hasn’t recovered from that massive drop,” says Bloch. “It affected new companies' appetite for trading and the hiring prospects for traders in that market – a lot of hedge funds decided it wasn’t quite the one way market they thought they’d signed up for.”
