UNITED STATES: ICE Announces a New Milestone in the Liberalization of Natural Gas Markets

Tuesday December 8 2020

On 7^th December 2020, Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) announced that a new milestone in the liberalization of natural gas markets with the launch of West India Marker LNG (Platts) futures contracts (“WIM LNG”).

This financially settled futures contract will settle against the S&P Global Platts daily assessment price for the LNG West India Marker (WIM) for spot physical LNG cargoes delivered into ports in India, Dubai and Kuwait.

WIM LNG futures sit within ICE’s global natural gas complex alongside TTF, NBP, Henry Hub, and JKM LNG (Platts) futures. JKM reflects cargoes delivered into ports in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China, while the WIM reflects cargoes delivered into the ports of India and the Middle East.

The globalization of natural gas markets, driven by the liberalization of LNG, has brought the demand centres of Europe and Asia to the forefront of global natural gas price formation. Market participants are increasingly utilizing the TTF and JKM natural gas benchmarks to risk manage these changing dynamics. TTF futures and options volume is up by more than 50% year over year, while open interest is up approximately 20% year over year. Open interest in JKM LNG (Platts) futures and options is up by 35% year over year and volume is up approximately 50% year over year.

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