Introduction

Algorithmic trading is increasingly a mainstay of European electricity and natural gas trade as major players seek to stay on top of fast-moving, volatile markets.

So-called algos, which make hundreds if not thousands of trades a day, are widely used to balance renewable energy portfolios and bring more liquidity to the market.

But traders have blamed the automated process for exacerbating volatility during last year's energy crisis, when electricity and gas prices exploded due to tight supplies and regulatory uncertainty. 

In this episode S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Kira Savcenko shares fragments of her conversation about this phenomenon with Jürgen Mayerhofer, CEO of algorithmic trader Enspired, and discusses further with Henry Edwardes-Evans, managing editor of S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Power in Europe newsletter.

Related price assessments: UK Day-ahead Baseload Power price: AADET00  UK Day-ahead Peakload Power price: AADFC00 UK Block 5 Power price: GTB5G00