ICE’s North American Financial Natural Gas Markets Reach Record Open Interest as Customers Manage Supply and Demand Dynamics Across Natural Gas Hubs

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Key Terms

open interest financial

Open interest is the total number of outstanding futures or options contracts that have been created but not yet closed or settled. Think of it like the number of active tickets in a queue — higher open interest means more traders are involved and the market is more liquid, which helps price moves be more reliable and shows the strength of investor interest or conviction in a trend.

basis futures financial

A basis futures contract is an exchange-traded agreement that lets market participants lock in or trade the future difference (the “basis”) between a local cash price for a commodity or asset and the price of a related standard futures contract. It matters to investors because it isolates and manages the risk that the cash–futures spread will move differently than expected, and it provides a focused signal about local supply, demand or quality factors—like locking the margin between a store’s sticker price and the wholesale price.

benchmark financial

A benchmark is a standard or yardstick—usually a market index, interest rate, or agreed performance target—used to measure how well an investment, portfolio, or fund is doing. It matters to investors because comparing returns against that benchmark shows whether a manager is adding value or simply matching market movements; like comparing a car’s mileage to an average, beating the benchmark suggests better performance while lagging suggests underperformance or higher costs.

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lng technical

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas that has been cooled into a liquid so it takes up far less space for transport and storage, like turning a bulky bundle into a compact package for shipping. Investors care because LNG enables gas trade across regions without pipelines, so changes in production, export capacity, shipping, or demand can quickly affect energy company revenues, infrastructure operators and commodity prices, amplifying both opportunity and risk.

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07/14/2026 - 08:06 AM

Record OI Across ICE’s Global Power Futures Markets

NEW YORK & CALGARY, Canada--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), one of the world's leading providers of financial market technology and data powering global capital markets, and home to the largest and most liquid markets to trade energy derivatives, today announced that on July 1, 2026, ICE’s North American Financial Natural Gas futures and options markets reached record open interest (OI) of 13.4 million contracts, up 9% year-over-year (y/y).

ICE’s North American Financial Natural Gas contracts price the differential between each regional hub and the U.S. natural gas benchmark Henry Hub. Hubs which have seen strong OI growth this year include Alberta NIT basis futures with OI up 13%, Houston Ship Channel basis futures with OI up 16%, Waha basis futures with OI up 15% and NGPL TexOk basis futures with OI up 51%. Meanwhile, cleared physical Canadian natural gas volumes are up 9% y/y at ICE NGX, which offers clearing for physical natural gas delivered at hubs across North America.

“Natural gas markets have entered a structurally more complex era, and the record open interest across ICE's North American Financial Gas markets reflects that shift,” said Brian Lewis, VP of North American Natural Gas and Power at ICE. “The U.S. is now simultaneously the world's largest LNG exporter while infrastructure investments, surging power demand, and a strengthening El Niño are all pulling supply and demand in different directions across the country, impacting prices from hub to hub.”

“We're also seeing new natural gas pipeline capacity beginning to debottleneck some of the most constrained production regions, reshaping basis relationships that participants have traded around for years. ICE's North American Financial Natural Gas markets span more than 70 hubs, giving customers the precise tools they need to manage that location-specific exposure,” continued Lewis.

ICE's Henry Hub futures offer the deepest liquidity for managing long-term exposure to U.S. benchmark natural gas prices, with commercial participants actively hedging out to December 2035. Open interest is up 8% y/y at 25.7 million contracts across Henry Hub futures and options, with options OI up 13% at 17.2 million contracts.

In addition to Henry Hub, ICE is home to the global natural gas benchmark TTF, Canadian natural gas benchmark AECO, U.K. natural gas benchmark NBP, and ICE JKM LNG (Platts), the benchmark price for natural gas for North-East Asia, as well as power markets spanning U.S. regional hubs, the U.K., and continental Europe. On July 1, 2026, ICE’s global power futures markets hit record OI of 3.6 million contracts, up 7% y/y.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds, and operates digital networks that connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes helping our customers access mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and efficiency. ICE’s futures, equity, and options exchanges -- including the New York Stock Exchange -- and clearing houses help people invest, raise capital and manage risk. We offer some of the world’s largest markets to trade and clear energy and environmental products. Our fixed income, data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers streamline processes and capitalize on opportunities. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming U.S. housing finance, from initial consumer engagement through loan production, closing, registration and the long-term servicing relationship. Together, ICE transforms, streamlines, and automates industries to connect our customers to opportunity.

Trademarks of ICE and/or its affiliates include Intercontinental Exchange, ICE, ICE block design, NYSE and New York Stock Exchange. Information regarding additional trademarks and intellectual property rights of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and/or its affiliates is located here. Key Information Documents for certain products covered by the EU Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation can be accessed on the relevant exchange website under the heading “Key Information Documents (KIDS).”

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 -- Statements in this press release regarding ICE's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as filed with the SEC on February 5, 2026.

Category: Exchanges

SOURCE: Intercontinental Exchange