No two days are the same in business energy trading, which appeals to my inner personal battle of both needing structure and thriving on a bit of chaos. I didn’t walk out of university into a trading role, I was a temp worker sorting postcodes for data collectors then onto varied experiences dealing with field staff exchanging meters, distribution and generation settlements, a stint in HR then followed and even weekend work as a gas meter reader. The last one has the best stories if I’m being honest.
If it’s early enough I will load the dogs into the truck and take them down to the beach to start the day, the biting winds and freezing sand and water over the feet certainly wakes you up, but if not, we can get to beneath an old Roman viaduct and off-road track just ten minutes from the house. Either way it is into nature and away from the grating noises of combustion engines and power tools, before finding a suitable stop to check the Dutch TTF and bird identifier app.
After taking the kids to school, it’s into the home office to power up the laptop, screens and systems. While that’s humming into life, I fill up the bird feeders and tables in the back garden to see what diverse mix we can entice in that day. A sparrow hawk is the most exotic I’ve had recently, but you get to know the characters that come every day; sometimes demanding loudly when you haven’t replenished the mealworms.
The trading team will have been working hard already, so I’ll catchup on any urgent issues or breaking news before checking the technical analysis charts and firing up the usual websites that seem to have been around since day 1 iykyk, as well as BBC’s rugby union page. In addition to showing any bearish or bullish trend, I can see if the support and resistance levels I have plotted or trading targets are nearing and decide if it is going to be a risk mitigating day or opportunistic trading day, or one of those ‘wait and see’ days…
A short time ago, supply and demand fundamentals were key, so it would be straight to Norwegian and UK continental shelf outages to see what has unexpectedly gone offline, or if there was a material change in air temperatures and windspeeds affecting system length. Now, as the global energy market is as intrinsically linked as ever, TTF, EUAs and Brent crude commodities and their underlying drivers point to what markets could do today and beyond.
After the charts it’s into the three energy reports I read without fail, then the headlines and industry news before the obligatory LinkedIn scroll, where I am lucky to have a feed that shares intelligence and ideas (particularly the posts of our Director of Operations & Trading, Dave Loveday, this man lives and breathes the energy industry). You constantly get great insight from different people, from different countries and varying specialisms in the industry.
After this I feel set to edit our daily Energy Trader Daily report for clients that is prepared by Myles. I always try and put myself in the mind of an energy manager to think what I would want to know. System length, backwardation and Nordic unplanned outages are interesting to traders, but I may have bigger fish to fry operationally, so it’s good not to blind with jargon and unnecessary data and make it relevant with a human voice.
Then it’s a quick peruse of emails, before an online Teams meeting; to take in the headline stories, everyone in the teams’ perspectives and see what we all have on the cards for the day and prioritise accordingly.
We have a dynamic view of every client’s position thanks to Conor, which I will go through, before concentrating on those I am the dedicated trader for to see what proactive information I can provide. This will range from bespoke market updates, pricing for the periods and targets we are concentrating on. Everyone is different in how their company runs, deals with risk appetite and sets financial forecasts. While we are forecasting the next month’s Day ahead potential for one client, the other is looking to lock Summer-30 in. We have regular meetings with clients to understand their business operations and agree new or changes to energy procurements strategies on a frequent basis.
I will then prep more detailed position reports, latest market prices and volume analysis ready for any meetings that day. As well as allowing for easier decision making, these meetings allow for a very personable touch, and bring the client, account manager and trader closer in alignment which is imperative for good relations and good management. Much as I love my job, I find its one of only a few that require you to predict the future in the short-, medium- and long-term. I did buy a crystal ball during the energy crisis as I was asked the same question so often, but when it caught the sun and started burning a stack of paper I decided against using it.
Lunchtime is usually the gym, where we like to break a physical sweat too, and try and get rugby ready. I will pop on my Spotify playlist and sometimes listen to Echo’s Hope – everyone in that band works in the energy industry and means you are never far from distribution, transmission, shift trading or portfolio management. However, as I am currently sat here with a microscopic tear in my right hamstring and epicondyle brace on my left arm, I am less George Bernard Shaw (“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”) and more Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon (“I’m too old for this stuff!”).
Back to the well-worn chair and ice pack to check the charts and see if those support and resistance levels are edging any closer. Any material moves will have the Teams chat buzzing, and we’ll be doing our best to understand the major influences, look at market projections and make any necessary contact. Being reactive to the day’s movements and proactive to the long- and short-term trends are incredibly important for your clients’ risk management. Whatever the announcements are, we’ll need to see how they affect supply and demand fundamentals, the impacts on gas storage, LNG markets, renewable generation and geopolitical relationships etc, whilst also mitigating interim, mid-term and long duration outlooks.
If nothing requires immediate attention, it is nice to get your head down and give certain tasks due planning and time. This is where in-depth features and analysis, presentations for upcoming events, some good old fashioned process improvements or enhancements to the functionality, information and aesthetic of current reports can be dealt with. None of this could be done without the great support of the trading team or the rest of the office. I am very lucky to be able to work from home and have a great work/life trade-off, but it is also nice organising trips south to Manchester and maybe catch a supplier or client visit to head office.
The sun is round the front of the house by the time I finish up, and I glance out to see the usual suspects, Larry, Curly and Mo, three black crows awaiting their shelled peanut offering. This again reminds me of the technical analysis charts before onto the job of being a dad and husband… and awaiting Dave’s next LinkedIn update!