FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

ICE Energy Markets Hit Record 130.5 Million Open Interest Contracts

By

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) said Wednesday it reached an all-time high open interest of 130.5 million contracts across its futures and options markets, led by double-digit growth in Henry Hub and global power derivatives.

Fueled by structural shifts in global energy infrastructure, ICE's commodity markets hit a record open interest of 77 million contracts on May 22, while its broader global energy portfolio climbed 8% year over year to 72 million contracts.

Total energy options led the surge, logging a record 31 million open contracts, ICE said.

According to exchange data, global natural gas positions peaked at 48 million contracts, marking an 11% year-over-year increase, while global power markets reached an all-time OI high of 4 million contracts on May 25.

The growth was driven by North American gas derivatives, where futures and options volumes jumped 11% year-over-year to a record 41.4 million open contracts, it noted.

Notably, positions in the US Henry Hub benchmark increased 13% year-over-year, alongside an 8% increase across regional financial gas hubs.

Market operators attribute the expanding liquid volumes to commercial participants actively hedging regional basis spreads, localized pipeline constraints, and the shifting maritime trade routes for global LNG cargoes.

On the demand side, exchange officials highlighted that rapid data center expansion is introducing a complex layer of structural consumption to power grids.

Related Articles

Oil & Energy

EMEA Natural Gas Update: Futures Rally After Fresh US-Iran Peace Deal Criticism

European natural gas futures rose on Thursday amid fresh criticism over US-Iran peace deal, and lack of clarity on peace deal to end hostilities in the region.The front-month Dutch TTF contract was up by 2.72% to 47.675 euros ($55.35) per megawatt hour, while the UK NBP front-month contract rose 3.06% to 116.500 British pence ($1.56) per therm.Both the US and Iran were involved in fresh clashes on Wednesday, with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeting a US airbase in retaliation against American attacks near the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, according to Iran's Tasnim News Agency.Meanwhile, during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signaled that he was in no hurry to make a deal with Iran."We can make a good deal right now, but maybe not a great deal, and if it's not a great deal, we're not making it," he said, while once again noting that Iran would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.The strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shut for the 13th week running, with just six vessels transiting over the past 24 hours, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor.This comes at a time when European natural gas inventories remain depleted, at just 38.83% of capacity, compared to 46.60%, during the corresponding period a year ago, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.Inventories were also significantly below the five-year average for this period, at 52.8%, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.All of this comes during a "a historic, record-shattering heatwave" across Europe, with temperatures rising 12 to 16 degrees Celsius above long-term climatological norms, according to Severe-Weather EU, leading to increased air-conditioning power demand and more natural gas burn.Meanwhile, Daniel Hynes, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ, warned that seaborne shipments to Europe were "running below seasonal norms," amid rising competition from Asian buyers in the spot markets. This stands to further complicate the supply situation for the region.

Oil & Energy

Long-Term Reconfiguration of Global Energy Would Require Longer Hormuz Closure, Says Rystad Energy

Rystad Energy has published a report outlining what it expects to be the legacy of the Middle East crisis, or Iran war as it has also been dubbed, with signs that a more fragmented and security-focused energy sector may emerge from the largest-ever disruption to global oil supplies.The crisis has pushed the market to face the flaws of a Middle Eastern centric global hydrocarbons supply and to tackle energy efficiency and supply resilience."Governments are prioritizing strategic petroleum reserves, liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and fuel diversification. Energy security is no longer a temporary crisis concern, but a structural feature of a more unstable world," as per the introduction notes.It underscored that "geopolitical fragmentation is also accelerating" and that the economies are not evolving into rigid Cold War-like blocs but more "selective alignments"."Countries seek flexibility across competing powers rather than committing fully to one side", Rystad said, noting that China's large crude reserves are largely forestalling the impact of the crisis on the country.Adding its own quantification of impact to a growing number of analyst predictions, it says that sustained oil prices around $110 per barrel would slow global GDP growth to about 2.5% in 2026, down from 2025's 3.4%.Energy importers in Europe and Asia are facing weaker trade balances and currencies on top of surging bills for energy cargoes they obtain while inflation is now more likely to become problematic.Importantly, in answer to what some analysts say is an unexpectedly subdued market reaction to the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Rystad says this is largely down to very high reserves in place in the until-recently oversupplied market plus volumes of oil already at sea.It says that for transformative structural change to energy markets to occur, as some expect, the crisis will need to endure for longer and it says the impact for economies has arisen more from tighter supplies of liquefied natural gas than for oil.Rystad Energy's geopolitical risk index is now at its highest level ever, reflecting the severity of the US/Israel-Iran conflict and its wide-ranging impacts."The conflict has become another defining example of a world in which geopolitical shocks are more frequent, harder to contain, and increasingly capable of producing immediate global energy consequences," Rystad said.

Oil & Energy

Market Chatter: Iran War Fuel Surge Forces Indian Airlines to Slash Capacity

India's largest airlines IndiGo and Air India have cancelled their domestic flight schedules for June and July as soaring global jet fuel costs driven by the Middle East conflict weigh on the industry, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources.IndiGo has pruned its planned domestic schedule by 7% to 10% for the upcoming two-month window. Meanwhile, Air India has executed a deeper 22% reduction in its domestic network, as per the report.The ongoing geopolitical conflict in the Middle East has sent aviation turbine fuel prices soaring, blindsiding the aviation sector where fuel traditionally commands up to 40% of overall operating expenditures.In a statement to Reuters, an Air India spokesperson confirmed the carrier has "temporarily rationalised operations on certain domestic routes" adding that frequencies would be restored as operating conditions stabilize.However, both the airlines did not respond immediately to' requests for comments.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)