Now That’s What I Call an Outtrade!

In the futures pits, the bane of traders’ existences was an outtrade-when a trade was submitted for clearing but the buyer and seller couldn’t be matched.  An outtrade could be due to a difference or price or quantity.  The worst kind was when both parties thought they were on the same side of the trade.  Another kind of scary outtrade was when a trader said he bought, but there was no matching sale, or the reverse.

Ukraine and a Spanish company have such an outtrade apparently.  To the tune of $1.1 billion:

Ukraine, keen to show it is weaning itself off Russian gas, announced on Monday it had created a consortium to build a $1.1 billion liquefied natural gas plant, but its reported partner, Gas Natural of Spain, swiftly denied any involvement.

Ukraine said it would build the first LNG regasification terminal within its borders, in partnership with Gas Natural, which would allow it to import gas from all over the world, breaking its dependence on Russia.

But Gas Natural flatly denied signing any deal with Ukraine.

“Gas Natural has not signed any contract to invest in an LNG plant in the Ukraine, nor are we leading any consortium to develop such a terminal… nor are we studying anything along these lines,” the company said in a statement. [Sounds pretty definitive!  No ‘effing way I traded with you lot. I didn’t even think about trading with you lot.]

. . . .

Even after the official denial by Gas Natural, Ukraine’s state investment agency insisted the deal had been signed and said it was looking into the report stating otherwise.

“There must have been some miscommunication,” a spokeswoman for the agency said.

A miscommunication.  Over $1.1 billion.  It could happen to anyone!

As sometime commenter Elmer says, Ukraine is sovok.  It shows, and maybe this is an example of that.  But I wonder if sovok central-Russia-put the word in a Spanish ear.

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