LONDON & NEW YORK, USA & AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, today announced record open interest (OI) across its global commodity and energy futures and options markets, as well as record volume across commodity and energy options.
On October 25, 2023, ICE hit record OI of 56.3 million contracts across commodities futures and options, including record OI of 51.5 million contracts in energy futures and options. Meanwhile, ICE reached record volume in commodity and energy options during October with approximately 16 million commodity options traded, including a record 14.3 million energy options.
ICE offers customers the most liquid markets to trade energy derivatives and is home to Brent crude, which is used to price over three quarters of the world’s internationally traded crude oil and is the most liquid futures and options markets in the world. Volumes across ICE’s global oil options markets hit a record of approximately 6.8 million contracts in October, with volumes up 93% year-over-year (y/y). Brent crude options are the most liquid crude oil options contract globally and traded a record 5.7 million contracts during the month with record average daily volume of 257,000 contracts, up 85% y/y.
Open Interest across ICE’s global natural gas futures markets reached a record 19.8 million contracts on October 26, 2023, while volumes in ICE’s TTF futures market, the global benchmark for natural gas, hit a record 6.4 million contracts during October, with volumes up 127% y/y.
“Many years ago, ICE recognized the importance of creating a truly global energy platform to serve the needs of a growing and evolving commercial customer base,” said Trabue Bland, SVP, Futures Markets at ICE. “As energy dynamics become increasingly complex, customers are seeking liquidity and products that provide more precise hedging. The record growth in volumes and open interest shows the benefits our customers are finding in the contracts we provide, which span deeply liquid global benchmarks and many hundreds of more precise locational, product and refining spreads.”
ICE offers customers the broadest range of benchmarks to support the liberalization of natural gas, as well as the most liquid global environmental markets, which help corporates and market participants meet commitments to reduce carbon emissions. As of the third quarter 2023, ICE’s natural gas and environmental markets combined form over 40% of ICE’s energy complex, growing 17% on average over the past five years.
Meanwhile, OI across ICE’s agricultural portfolio, which includes benchmark Sugar, Cocoa, Coffee, Cotton, Canola and Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice markets, has hit consistent records through the year reaching a record 4.95 million contracts on November 2, 2023.
