US group Enron begins trading chemicals swaps in Europe

01 November 2000 17:57  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (CNI)--US energy group Enron said Wednesday it has started trading financial, fixed price contracts - or swaps - on six chemical products in Europe.

The swaps against ethylene, propylene, benzene, polypropylene (PP), high density polyethylene (hdPE) and polystyrene (PS) began trading on Enron's Internet-based trading platform www.enrononline.com on Monday, said an Enron spokesman.

This marks the first time that swaps against these chemicals products, quoted in euros or deutschmarks, have been made available via the Internet, he said. Swaps against the products are already traded on EnronOnline, in US dollars, in the US.

Enron plans to extend the range of chemical swaps available, and to introduce more complicated financial products - such as options or futures - in the near future.

Rob Brewis, manager of Enron's plastics and petrochemicals group, said: "Companies that hedge against price volatility enjoy extra financial certainty, leaving themselves free to concentrate on their core business activities. Now, professionals in the European petrochemical and plastics industry can manage their businesses in the same sound way, conveniently, via the Internet."

By: Anna Jagger
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