ESMA has issued opinions on three position limits under MIFID II with gas underlyings. Opinions are issued following the position limits being set by the National Competent Authority (NCA) in question, in this case BaFin in Germany and AFM in the Netherlands. The limits have been adjusted up and down due to changes in open interest and deliverable supply. In the case of the limit relating to NCG, one factor in the merger of the two German gas hubs, NCG and Gaspool, to form the Trading Hub Europe (THE) later this year. For the most part, ESMA has agreed with the limits set by the NCAs, although in the case of the NCG limit, a note of caution is sounded due tothe difference between the spot month and other months limits. The opinions are as follows:
The updated “master list” of position limits maintained by ESMA can be found here.