Freight Investor Services, one of the world’s leading brokers of freight and commodity derivatives, is pleased to announce the first trades on the FIS Bunker Screen, which went live for trading on November 7. The first trades were made on the two live contracts, Singapore 180cst and Rotterdam 3.5% Sulphur Barges. Oslo-based Torvald Klaveness sold the December 2012 contract on Rotterdam 3.5% Sulphur Barges, while Dubai-based Panacore lifted an offer on the March 2013 Singapore 180cst contract. Both trades were made against the market makers providing live, firm prices to the FIS Bunker screen.
Panacore Group Chief Executive Officer Mudit Paliwal said: “Panacore is very pleased to transact the first of what we expect to be many trades on the FIS Bunker Screen. It is a great tool that allows us to rapidly execute in a dynamic business environment and helps us to expand our business continuously.”
Interest in the screen since launch has been strong with an average of 20 participants signing up per day. In response, FIS has expanded its bunker fuel trading team to five. Zoe Upson has joined Damien King and Ali Ersen on the London bunker desk, while coverage is provided in Singapore by Darragh Lenihan and in South Korea by Hanhee Jung. Zoe Upson, FIS Bunker broker said: “I’m very excited to be joining the FIS bunker desk and playing a role as this market develops in a new direction.
The FIS Bunker Screen really does change the game for buyers and sellers of marine fuel and the interest we have seen so far demonstrates to us that there is a real appetite for better risk management in this market.” The FIS Bunker Screen is an expansion of the collaboration with Cleartrade Exchange (CLTX), which provides the trading technology to FIS to enable a completely new concept in bunker swap trading.
Cleartrade Exchange has automated the collection of prices from multiple market-makers and liquidity providers, through the implementation of price injectors. This provides firm bids and offers from market participants in tight spreads along six months of the forward curve on the FIS Screen and anonymously to the CLTX Screen through Direct Market Access (DMA). Screen prices move with the market, reflecting up-to-the-minute changes in prices of the two key bunker fuel contracts: Singapore 180CST and Rotterdam 3.5% Sulphur Barges, with a third, Singapore 380CST to follow. Indicative prices on these contracts for a further three Quarters and four Calendar years are also available.
Indicative prices can also be provided on the US Gulf Coast 3.0% contract. Bunker fuel prices are fed into the FIS screen automatically and cash-settled swaps can be executed directly on screen, with straight through processing to clearing at SGX, NOS and CME and by voice clearing at ICE. Trading on the screen requires an FIS broking agreement and a clearing account with the providers noted above.
Source: Freight Investor Services