Intercontinental Exchange Reports Record Liquidity in Global Natural Gas Markets

Intercontinental Exchange has announced that its global natural gas futures markets have reached record liquidity levels. The company, a major provider of technology and data, reported record open interest (OI) in both U.S. Financial Gas futures and options markets, as well as in TTF futures.

On August 27, 2024, ICE's global natural gas futures markets achieved a record OI of 22.4 million contracts, representing a 15% increase year-over-year (y/y). In North America, ICE's U.S. Financial Gas futures and options markets set multiple OI records in August and September, including a peak of 11.7 million contracts on September 3, 2024, up 13% y/y. These markets cover 70 hubs across North America.

The U.S. natural gas benchmark, Henry Hub, has also seen strong OI figures, with a 26% y/y increase. In Europe, ICE TTF futures reached several OI records throughout August, including a peak of 2.1 million on August 29, 2024, marking a 53% y/y increase. TTF futures for Calendar year 2033 were traded for the first time in August, extending liquidity to 2033, matching the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub.

Trabue Bland, SVP, Futures Markets at ICE, stated, "The increasing interconnectedness of natural gas around the globe, driven by the liberalization of LNG, has implications for natural gas trade, pricing and the way market participants think about risk. With this in mind, ICE has worked for over two decades to create a global platform for natural gas trading that supports globalization of the fuel."

Bland added, "ICE has built the broadest and most liquid range of natural gas benchmarks for customers globally that are integral to efficient price risk management as supply and demand dynamics evolve."

ICE's natural gas portfolio includes other benchmarks such as the Canadian AECO, the U.K.'s NBP, and ICE JKM LNG (Platts) for North-East Asia. The company's global energy markets, which include these natural gas benchmarks, have seen a 23% y/y increase in OI, reaching 59.2 million contracts.