ICE Gas Markets Hit Record Liquidity on LNG Exports, Pipeline Constraints

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) reports record global natural gas futures activity, driven by LNG export growth, pipeline constraints, and rising power demand from data centers, deepening market liquidity across U.S. and European hubs.

(P&GJ) — Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) said its global natural gas markets hit record liquidity levels in October as traders hedge against growing international price volatility and U.S. pipeline constraints linked to rising LNG demand.

The exchange operator reported record open interest (OI) of 25.3 million contracts across its global natural gas futures markets on Oct. 28, up 13% from a year earlier. North American gas markets led the growth, hitting 21.2 million OI on Nov. 3, with ICE’s Henry Hub futures up 12% year over year.

Financial gas futures and options reached record open interest of 12.7 million on Oct. 31, while ICE’s physical U.S. gas markets recorded their busiest month on record in October, with 660,000 contracts traded — the equivalent of 1.65 billion MMBtu.

In Europe, ICE’s TTF gas futures also hit record open interest of 2.8 million contracts, up 32% from a year earlier.

“ICE’s global natural gas markets are seeing strong activity as participants use these markets to hedge regional and international price dynamics, pipeline constraints and evolving energy requirements, with global LNG dynamics linking U.S. gas to international markets,” said Trabue Bland, senior vice president of Futures Markets at ICE.

“Rapid data center growth is anticipated to increase U.S. gas-fired power demand, which could tighten supply and add pressure on basis spreads,” Bland added. “These factors are collectively deepening futures liquidity as market participants position for both domestic and global shifts.”

ICE said total open interest across all its futures markets reached a record 59 million contracts in October, including 44 million in commodities.