Overview

Last week’s EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) carbon prices (EUAs) exhibited a clear upward trend, moving from relatively stable levels early in the week to a sharp late-week rally. The benchmark EUA December 26 futures began last week trading around €72-73, reflecting a broadly stable market following energy market volatility earlier in the month. EUAs then rose into the €73–74/t range, supported by short-term technical recovery and steady compliance demand. Market sentiment during this period remained cautious, but began to get more bullish towards the end of the week with a surge to approximately €76–77.5/t on 17 April. This represented a weekly increase of 6.9% from 13 April levels.

The late-week rally was primarily driven by external macro and geopolitical factors. News related to potential Middle East de-escalation, including prospects of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, pushed oil and gas prices lower, which allowed a rise in carbon prices. This highlights the non-linear relationship between EUA prices and energy markets that has been a factor of 2026 so far.