Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today announced that its Low Sulphur Gasoil markets hit a series of open interest records through June 2024, reaching a high of 1.2 million across futures and options on July 1, 2024, equivalent to 120 million metric tons.
ICE Low Sulphur Gasoil sits at the center of middle distillates trading as the global benchmark for refined oil products. Gasoil futures and options open interest is up over 40% year-over-year (y/y), with trading volumes up 30% y/y.
Gasoil options activity has been performing particularly well, hitting record open interest of 234,570 contracts on July 3, while Gasoil options traded at record levels in Q2 2024 with 287,421 options traded. During Q2 2024, a record of approximately 16.2 million oil options contracts traded at ICE, including a record 13.5 million Brent options contracts. Customers can benefit from margin offsets as high as 98% when clearing ICE Gasoil alongside other oil positions at ICE.
ICE Gasoil is a physically deliverable futures contract for what is now ultra-low sulphur diesel. An average of over 100,000 tons has entered the delivery process each month since the start of 2024, demonstrating the success of the benchmark following ICE’s changes to the methodology of the Gasoil contract to align it with sanctions preventing the delivery or export of Russian oil in the European Union which took effect from February 2023.
“More than 18 months on from ICE’s first successful delivery of Russian-free barrels of gasoil, the contract continues as the most liquid distillate benchmark,” said Jeff Barbuto, Global Head of Oil Markets at ICE. “For 43 years, ICE’s gasoil market has allowed customers to confidently participate in the physical delivery and trade of gasoil globally, and the record trading activity is a testament to the continued value participants find in the contract.”
ICE Low Sulphur Gasoil forms part of ICE’s global crude and refined product complex which includes Brent crude, the price barometer for three quarters of the world’s internationally traded crude oil, alongside ICE Midland WTI (HOU), ICE WTI (Cushing), ICE Dubai (Platts), ICE Murban, as well as NY Harbor RBOB Gasoline and Heating Oil. These benchmarks are supported by over 800 related oil products, giving participants the ability to manage the price points of products at the point of consumption or production around the world. Open interest in ICE’s global oil complex is up over 20% at 14 million contracts.
