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.
futuresfinancial
A futures contract is a standardized agreement to buy or sell an asset (like a commodity, currency, or stock index) at a fixed price on a specific future date. Think of it like locking in the price of a house today for a move-in years from now: it lets buyers and sellers protect themselves against price swings or bet on which way prices will move. For investors, futures matter because they provide a cheap way to manage risk, amplify returns through leverage, and signal market expectations that can move cash prices.
optionsfinancial
Options are contracts that give investors the right to buy or sell an asset at a specific price within a certain time frame. They function like a reservation or a ticket that allows for potential profit or protection against price changes, making them useful tools for managing investment risks or speculating on market movements.
benchmarkfinancial
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.
liquidityfinancial
Liquidity is how easily and quickly an asset or investment can be converted into cash without losing value. It matters to investors because higher liquidity means they can access their money quickly if needed, while lower liquidity can make it harder to sell assets promptly or at a fair price, potentially creating financial challenges. Think of it like trying to sell a common item versus a rare collectible—it's much easier to sell the common item fast.
portfolio marginingfinancial
A broker service that lets an investor treat all their holdings together to calculate how much cash or borrowed money is needed to support their trades, taking offsets between positions into account. Like combining items in one shopping cart to get a better deal, it can lower the amount of capital required and increase buying power, but it also allows larger swings in gains and losses, so investors face higher risk exposure.
lngtechnical
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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Record OI Across ICE’s North American Natural Gas Markets
LONDON & NEW YORK & AMSTERDAM--(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 record liquidity across its global natural gas and power markets, including record open interest (OI) across North American natural gas, as ICE reached record total OI across its futures and options markets of 130.5 million contracts.
On May 22, 2026, ICE’s global natural gas markets hit record OI of 48 million, up 11% year-over-year (y/y), while ICE’s global power markets reached record OI of 4 million, up 10 % y/y on May 25, 2026.
On the same day, ICE’s North American natural gas futures and options markets hit record OI of 41.4 million, up 11% y/y with OI across ICE Henry Hub futures, the U.S. natural gas benchmark, up 13% y/y. OI across ICE’s U.S. Financial Gas futures and options markets, which offer a suite of precise risk management tools that reflect the supply and demand dynamics of 70 distinct North American natural gas hubs, is up 8% y/y.
“Interest in ICE’s natural gas and power markets remains strong as participants hedge regional and international price dynamics, pipeline constraints, infrastructure investments and evolving energy requirements,” said Trabue Bland, SVP of Futures Markets at ICE. “The shifting picture for global LNG trade routes is linking natural gas markets across regions, while data center expansion is adding a new layer of demand-side pressure - both of which could tighten the supply and demand balance and weigh on basis spreads.”
“The record open interest reflects how participants worldwide turn to ICE's deeply liquid energy markets to navigate the increasingly interconnected and dynamic price environment we are in. That liquidity, combined with ICE’s portfolio margining methodology, IRM 2, is crucial for our customers who benefit from a margin model that captures correlations across energy exposures when they are trading diversified or hedged portfolios across ICE, resulting in precise margin treatment,” continued Bland.
In addition to Henry Hub, ICE is home to the broadest range of natural gas benchmarks, including 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. Sitting alongside natural gas markets, ICE offers hundreds of power futures and options contracts spanning U.S. regional hubs, the U.K., and continental Europe.
ICE’s commodity markets hit record OI of 77 million on May 22, 2026, while energy options hit record OI of 31 million. ICE global energy markets OI is up 8% y/y at 72 million.
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.
