Digest of clearing activities - August 2026
In August 2026, significant growth in activity was recorded in the untreated timber and lumber market (+94%) and the medium- and long-term natural gas market (+100%). At the same time, transaction volumes declined in the short-term natural gas market, as well as in the crude oil and gas condensate, petroleum products, and liquefied gas segments. The total number of contracts admitted to clearing reached 21,260. Detailed information is available in the attachment below or at the link.
Results of the functioning of the commodity clearing market (2025 - I half of 2026)
Since the launch of operations in early 2025, Ukrainian Clearing House LLC (UCH) has been providing clearing and guaranteeing the fulfillment of obligations on organized commodity markets in Ukraine. The results of a year and a half of work indicate dynamic infrastructure growth and clear market segmentation: from a highly competitive timber sector with thousands of regional counterparties to concentrated capital-intensive energy markets. Structure of clearing members As of the end of the first half of 2026, the UCH had accredited 6,180 clearing participants. The distribution by product segment demonstrates the high involvement of small and medium-sized businesses in the timber sector: Commodity segment Number of accredited participants Share Untreated timber and lumber 5 127 83,0% Natural gas 244 3,9% Electricity (commercial section) 239 3,9% Liquefied gas 157 2,5% Oil and gas condensate 156 2,5% Oil prosucts 116 1,9% Raw materials and other products 46 0,7% Coal products 37 0,6% In total 6 180 100% Cost distribution of clearing operations In terms of the value of transactions admitted to clearing, two-thirds of the market (67%) falls on the energy sector: Oil and gas condensate — 31%: the most liquid sector, forming a significant share of cash turnover. Natural gas — 16%: a systemic basic segment of organized exchange trading. Electricity (commercial section) — 12%: a segment with a growing role for clearing in resolving non-payment issues and minimizing counterparty risks. Liquefied gas — 8%: a stable motor fuel sector with high turnover. The untreated timber and lumber segment accounts for 33% of the total value, providing important diversification of the clearing house’s operations structure. Other segments (oil products, coal, agricultural raw materials) collectively account for less than 1%, indicating significant room for further scaling up of organized trade. Comparative analysis: scale vs. concentration Comparing the number of transactions and their monetary value reveals a fundamental difference in the profiles of the markets: The timber market is the undisputed leader in terms of the physical number of transactions. At the same time, the average amount of one transaction here is only about UAH 141 thousand, which is typical of a fragmented market with high competition and a wide range of woodworking enterprises. Energy markets, on the contrary, are highly concentrated: with a relatively small number of accredited companies and contracts, the average size of a clearing transaction reaches UAH 9.5 million (almost 67 times higher than in woodworking). Conclusions: This structure of operations confirms the readiness of the risk management systems of the Ukrainian Clearing House to work effectively with both mass small transactions (requiring high automation and system performance) and large energy contracts (requiring reliable financial guarantee, coverage and default management instruments).
Statement of UCH LLC regarding publications in the media
In connection with the spread of publications in the media that contain inaccurate information about the activities of Ukrainian Clearing House LLC (hereinafter referred to as UCH LLC), which provides clearing services for untreated timber trades, we are providing an official clarification. The statement that UCH LLC places the guarantee deposits of trading participants in bank deposits is not true. UCH LLC has the right to dispose of the guarantee funds within the limits determined by the legislation regulating clearing activities and the Clearing Rules. At the same time, not a single hryvnia of the clearing participants’ funds is placed in the deposit accounts of UCH LLC. UCH LLC is a clearing institution that operates on organized commodity markets exclusively in accordance with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation and adheres to high standards of transparency. UCH LLC is always open to dialogue with the media and is ready to provide journalists with objective information, clarifications, and answers to information requests. However, UCH LLC has not received any requests from the media to provide information. UCH LLC has already sent official appeals to the editorial offices that posted the relevant materials, refuting the untrue statements.
The rating system for timber market participants is integrated into the work of all licensed commodity exchanges
The rating system for timber market participants is already integrated into the work of all licensed commodity exchanges that trade in untreated timber. The connection of the Ukrainian Resource Exchange ensured that the system covered all four exchange platforms where untreated timber trades are held. On August 14, 2026, by resolution of the Supervisory Board of Ukrainian Clearing House LLC, an extraordinary reassessment of the level of counterparty risks in the "Untreated timber and lumber" direction was carried out. The revaluation took place due to the addition of input data for assessing the level of risks with information received from the Ukrainian Resource Exchange within the framework of information exchange. Thus, when assessing the level of risks, data on the performance of participants on all four licensed commodity exchanges is taken into account. In the future, information from all four exchanges will be used during regular reassessments. The system of a risk-based approach to guaranteeing the obligations of exchange trading participants was developed by the Ukrainian Clearing House together with licensed commodity exchanges. It involves dividing market participants into five groups: A, B, C, D and E, depending on the level of risk. The rating is formed on the basis of objective indicators, in particular the history of the participant’s performance of previously concluded exchange contracts and other indicators of its work. In accordance with the determined level of risk, differentiated approaches are applied to guaranteeing the obligations of participants, in particular regarding the size and instruments of collateral. From now on, data from all four trading platforms is taken into account when assessing participants’ risks. This allows for a more complete assessment of a participant’s business discipline and its use in determining approaches to guaranteeing their obligations, - noted the director of the Ukrainian Clearing House, Olena Velyka. The rating system has supplemented the mechanism for monitoring the performance of exchange contracts operating on the untreated timber market. The monitoring system answers the question "Why is the contract not fulfilled or not fulfilled in full?" and what are the consequences of non-fulfillment. While the risk-oriented approach, based largely on monitoring results, allows for a comprehensive assessment of the participant’s risk and to determine approaches to securing its obligations in subsequent exchange transactions appropriate to the level of risk. The results of the risk assessment with a detailed report on the calculation of the final rating score and information on the participant’s assignment to the appropriate risk group are available in the participant’s personal account in the electronic trading system. The integration of the system into the work of all four licensed commodity exchanges forms a unified approach to assessing the risks of participants and guaranteeing the fulfillment of obligations in the organized market for untreated timber. At the same time, the system creates additional motivation for participants to maintain an appropriate level of contractual discipline, since their actual history of fulfilling obligations is directly taken into account when assessing risk.
Digest of clearing activities - July 2026
In July 2026, activity increased in the crude oil and gas condensate market (+24.6%), liquefied gas market (+53.3%), petroleum products segment (+12.5%), and the commercial electricity section (+6.1%). At the same time, the number of transactions in the untreated timber and lumber market decreased by 78.4%, while the medium- and long-term natural gas market declined by 72.5%; the total number of contracts admitted to clearing reached 12,072. Detailed information is available in the attachment below or at the link.
Digest of clearing activities - June 2026
In June 2026, activity in the untreated timber and lumber market continued to grow, with the number of transactions nearly doubling (+96.7%). Significant growth was also recorded in the medium- and long-term natural gas market (+155.6%), as well as in the crude oil and gas condensate and petroleum products segments. The total number of contracts admitted to clearing reached 49,278. Detailed information is available in the attachment below or at the link.