LONDON– ICE Gilt futures and options, the highly liquid market benchmarks for UK Government Bonds, reached a Single Day Volume record of more than 1.91 million contracts and record Average Daily Volume (ADV) of more than 459,000 contracts during February.
Available in a range of maturities out to 30 years, ICE Gilt futures and options provide trading opportunities for market participants looking to hedge or gain exposure to interest rates around anticipated central bank rate changes, with the benchmark ICE Long Gilt futures used by the market to manage the intermediate term of the UK government bond yield curve.
Short Sterling futures and options, the benchmark for managing UK interest rate risk, reached record open interest of more than 20.1 million contracts on March 1, 2021. SONIA Futures and Options, the RFR-equivalent benchmark for Short Sterling, reached record ADV of more than 144,000 contracts, and sits at a record for Open Interest of more than 216,000 contracts. On February 25, SONIA had a record day for volume with more than 390,000 contracts traded.
“The growth in our GBP rates complex reflects both the depth of liquidity we offer, as well the extent of activity taking place as the market manages its exposure to Gilts and Sterling-related risk”, said Steve Hamilton, Global Head of Financial Derivatives at ICE. “ICE has seen multiple, sustained records across its GBP complex. We have continued to innovate to support the needs of our customers through LIBOR-transition, recently launching ERIS Interest Rate Futures and Three Month SARON Index Futures.”
As one of the leading venues for interest rate derivatives, ICE offers a comprehensive range of benchmark products alongside its Sterling rates complex including Euribor futures and options, SOFR futures and €STR futures.
About Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company and provider of marketplace infrastructure, data services and technology solutions to a broad range of customers including financial institutions, corporations and government entities. We operate regulated marketplaces, including the New York Stock Exchange, for the listing, trading and clearing of a broad array of derivatives contracts and financial securities across major asset classes. Our comprehensive data services offering supports the trading, investment, risk management and connectivity needs of customers around the world and across asset classes. As a leading technology provider for the U.S. residential mortgage industry, ICE Mortgage Technology provides the technology and infrastructure to transform and digitize U.S. residential mortgages, from application and loan origination through to final settlement.
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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, 2020, as filed with the SEC on February 4, 2021.
