OSLO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The Intercontinental Exchange ICE.N said on Monday that its trading volumes for benchmark European gas contracts reached a new record in 2025 and it planned to extend trading hours.
ICE traded a record 103 million contracts across futures and options products for the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in 2025, the first time it breached 100 million contracts, it said in a statement.
It also posted a new record for its TTF 1st line financial futures and JKM LNG (Platts) futures, which both surpassed one million contracts traded.
The former are cash-settled contracts priced in U.S. dollars per million British thermal units (MMBtu), complementing trading and hedging in physically delivered benchmark TTF contracts traded in euros per megawatt-hour.
They allow market participants to trade TTF in the same currency as U.S. benchmark Henry Hub and JKM LNG futures, offering hedging and pricing options across geographies, similar to the Brent oil market, ICE said.
ICE also launched TTF Daily Options on December 8 to help manage short-term natural gas market movements.
The exchange said it was preparing to extend trading hours for its European gas and power futures and options contracts to better match the 22-hour trading cycle of the Henry Hub and JKM markets.
Current trading hours for its TTF, British National Balancing Point $(NBP)$ and German Power contracts are for ten hours from 0700-1700 GMT.
The exchange said it was working closely with its customers on the planned transition and would provide further updates in due course.
Europe is increasingly relying on globally traded liquefied natural gas to meet demand, with the U.S. emerging as its key supplier.
(Reporting by Nora Buli. Editing by Mark Potter)
((Nora.Buli@thomsonreuters.com; (+47) 21 04 05 56; Reuters Messaging: nora.buli.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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