EU, U.N.-backed carbon prices hit new record lows

14/12/2011 - 13:10

LONDON (Reuters) - Benchmark U.N-backed carbon credits and European Union carbon permits plunged to new record lows on Wednesday, extending this week's sharp drop as worries about Europe's economic turmoil continued to erode demand.

Front-year U.N.-issued carbon credits, so-called certified emission reductions (CERs) fell nearly 10 percent to a new record low of 3.99 euros ($5.22) a metric ton.

Meanwhile, benchmark EU carbon permits tumbled some 7 percent to a fresh record low of 6.53 euros a metrc ton.

Both contracts have shed more than 60 percent of their value since June, as Europe's worsening debt crisis dented demand at a time when the world's biggest carbon market is oversupplied with hundreds of millions of credits and permits.

($1 = 0.7641 euros)

(Reporting by Jeff Coelho; editing by Keiron Henderson)