The week opened with further price declines on the European carbon market. The EUA Dec’26 extended its recent downward trend for a fifth consecutive session, falling another €1.50 to settle at €69.18 — the lowest closing level since late April 2025.
Last week ended with heavy losses on the European carbon market, as EUA Dec’26 settled at €70.68, its lowest close since early May 2025. The contract dropped 10% over the week alone, marking the steepest weekly decline in more than two years and extending losses to a fourth consecutive week.
Lately, attention in the carbon market has shifted to the upcoming revision of the EU ETS, after the European Commission announced a “comprehensive climate package” for the second half of 2026. In this context, media speculation about looser regulations has weighed on sentiment, sending a bearish signal for EUAs.
With Europe’s competitiveness set to dominate the informal EU leaders’ meeting on 12 February, pressure from energy-intensive industries is mounting for action on rising carbon prices and persistently high energy costs.
The latest Commitment of Traders (CoT) report from the ICE platform, published Wednesday morning, shows that investment funds reduced their net long positions (long minus short) for a second consecutive week.
After reaching a June 2023 high of €93.80 two weeks ago, EUA Dec’26 carbon prices reversed course, sliding toward €80 last Friday—a three-month low—and closing the week with an 8% drop, the steepest weekly decline in two years.
According to the European Electricity Review, an annual analysis published by Ember that examines the power sector across all EU member states, the energy transition reached a new and significant milestone last year.
Contrary to the upward momentum anticipated by many following President Trump’s rollback of tariff threats, European carbon prices moved lower on Wednesday, erasing all of the previous session’s gains. The December 2025 EUA contract settled at €86.54, down 2% on the day, marking its largest daily decline in a week.
Investment funds cut their net long positions as of last Friday, according to the latest Commitment of Traders (CoT) report from ICE released on Wednesday, in line with analysts’ expectations.
Last week, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling for a temporary four- to five-year suspension of the European carbon market.