According to exchange and broker data, JKM LNG futures trading volumes cleared on financial exchanges in March rose 8% YOY to 15.3 million mt, or 79,804 lots, reports Platts.
High MOM volume
The March volume was 28% higher month on month. Total volumes traded in the first quarter of the year were at 233,670 lots, or 44.9 million mt.
Drop in open interest (OI)
Open interest at the end of March dropped slightly from February’s record monthly high, with 101,153 lots recorded across the two key exchanges — Intercontinental Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
JKM options volumes for March were at 8,830, accounting for close to 10% of total JKM derivatives volumes cleared during the month. ICE saw 5,625 lots traded. This compares with the record 17,020 lots for options traded on ICE in January.
OI volumes
In terms of open interest (OI) in the futures market, the front-month contracts of May and June held the highest volume at 8,107 lots and 8,311 lots, respectively, on March 30.
These were higher than the current OI volumes in the winter months of October to December, with 4,314 lots, 4.339 lots, and 4,432 lots, respectively.
There continued to be reasonable OI volume further down the curve, with 1,209 to 1,662 lots recorded from April 2022 to December 2023.
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Source: Platts
