ICE reports record Brent options trading in third quarter

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ICE record Brent options trading

Highlights

ICE Brent options open interest rose 18% year over year to 4 million contracts, with Q3 average daily volume up 63% year to date.
ICE achieved its highest-volume year for Brent options, driven by increased energy market volatility and broadening utility for price risk management.
Average daily volume across ICE Brent futures and options markets climbed 23% year to date, showing sustained growth in benchmark-linked trading activity.

Trading records across the Brent curve

As reported by Intercontinental Exchange, open interest in ICE Brent options rises 18% year over year to 4 million contracts, while average daily volume in the third quarter is up 63% year to date. The exchange says the activity marks the highest-volume year for Brent options in its history and reflects broader demand for instruments tied to the global crude benchmark.

Jeff Barbuto, senior vice president and global head of oil markets at ICE, says energy market volatility is affecting almost all markets and making Brent an increasingly liquid tool for managing price risk and expressing views on future prices. He adds that ICE's share of global crude options volume, the number of participants, the number of newly active Brent options instruments and total volume have all been increasing year over year for more than a decade.

Broader use in oil risk management

ICE says customers are using weekly Brent options with daily expiries to hedge near-term event risk, monthly contracts to manage longer-dated exposure and other products to address average price risk. The exchange says its product range, liquidity and margin efficiencies allow market participants to manage multiple crude trading needs in one venue.

ICE adds that Brent underpins more than 800 futures and options contracts across global oil markets, including crude oil, refined products, biofuels and wet freight. Average daily volume across ICE Brent futures and options markets is up 23% year to date, pointing to continued growth in benchmark-linked trading activity.

In our earlier article on BP’s upcoming strategy reset, we noted that stronger oil and gas prices were accelerating balance-sheet repair, with net debt projected to drop below its prior target range ahead of schedule. We also highlighted that the company was preparing a December update in New York while reassessing priorities, including further write-downs in parts of its clean-energy business as it refocused on core oil and gas operations.

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