Dow Jones German Newswire Taps GFI for Energy Data

Dow Jones GmbH, the news provider’s German newswire operation, has begun distributing interdealer broker GFI Group’s complete suite of intraday over-the-counter power and gas price data, to provide its news clients with better information about price movements in the commodities markets.

“We wanted to strengthen our market data offering to customers of our Energy and Commodities unit in the German energy market,” says Michael Stentenbach, executive director of energy and commodities at Dow Jones News GmbH. “The value [of GFI data] in particular is to show a complete set of OTC power and gas prices from one of the most established brokers in the European market.”

Previously Dow Jones used delayed public information and price data sourced by its journalists to provide clients with news of commodities markets activity, but realized the need for more timely price data, says Shai Popat, head of market data for EMEA at GFI.

Under the deal, which was signed in the second quarter of this year, Dow Jones will be able to download market data from GFI at intervals throughout the day via FTP (file transfer protocol), enabling customers to “see changes sooner rather than later,” Popat says.

Clients of the newswire mainly comprise German-speaking financial professionals—located predominantly in Germany, but also in Austria and Switzerland—such as traders who hold positions in the commodities market, as well as regional and global energy suppliers and distributors with an interest in these regional energy markets, Popat says, adding that Dow Jones is considered the “de facto energy news source” in the region.

“We are in a very volatile environment at the moment…the commodities market has been affected by large swings in supply and demand—and that has meant people are more aware of swings in prices, and need to be on top of movements,” Popat says, adding that for professionals trading and purchasing commodities, getting accurate prices is more important than ever. “As the OTC market provides a more accurate representation of where energy contracts may be trading, demand is increasing for over-the-counter data,” he says.