The December 2026 EU ETS allowance contract traded between €74 and €77 per tonne in the first half of May 2026, according to ICE settlement data, after a brief spike above €92 in January.
The price stability follows EU Commission signals on adjusting the Market Stability Reserve. Quarterly CBAM certificate prices for Q1 2026 are set at €75.36/tonne, directly indexed to ETS averages.
Why it matters for green steel: ETS prices in this range translate into CBAM certificate costs that importers will surrender from February 2027 onwards, gradually raising the cost of high-emission imports relative to compliant low-carbon EU production.