Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays PLC, on Thursday said it recently completed its first U.S. power swap, a trade that represents the start of a material expansion of its commodities business in the Americas.

“We are now able to trade swaps and futures contracts on electricity for five delivery points in the Northeast U.S. — the New York, New England and PJM (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland) pools,” said Joe Gold, Barclays Capital’s head of Commodities-Americas.

“This capability allows us to respond to our clients’ needs in this sector, and we expect to respond further in the months to come when we begin trading physical contracts for both electricity and natural gas,” Gold added.

The firm also recently received a power marketing license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that allows it to trade physical gas and power.

Barclays Capital currently trades crude oil and refined products, natural gas and electricity derivatives from its New York office. It is one of the few financial institutions that provide clients with risk management solutions across oil, natural gas and electricity in the US. Barclays Capital also offers global products in energy derivatives, base and precious metals derivatives, and physical products for European electricity and natural gas.

Barclays Capital is the investment banking division of Barclays PLC. The firm employs more than 5,700 and has significant operations in all the world’s major financial centers, including regional headquarters in London, New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

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