April 2023: CEAs hit the lowest price since 2022 due to lack of banking rules

In the absence of banking rules, China Emission Allowances (CEAs) prices followed a downward trend, averaging RMB 54.97/t before settling 1.79 % lower month-on-month. Liquidity in the national ETS continued to drop with largely symbolic transactions reported on most trading days. Contrarily, closing prices in most regional pilots improved slightly. The total volume traded in eight pilot markets increased significantly during April. Meanwhile, liquidity in the offset market dropped sharply. The majority of China Certified Emission Reductions (CCERs) were traded in the Tianjin bourse. No CCERs were traded in the Guangdong, Hubei, Chongqing or Fujian markets. Given the long lead time to the next compliance deadline, as well as the lack of regulation updates, we continue to have a neutral to light bearish outlook for the national ETS.