Intercontinental Exchange Inc. said Tuesday its liquefied natural gas (LNG) freight futures contracts launched Monday and were traded by leading industry players on their first day. 

The contracts are based on LNG freight spot price assessments by Spark Commodities. ICE said 15 lots of the Spark30S Atlantic and 15 lots of the Spark25S Pacific contracts were traded for the June 2021 expiry window. The trades involved Total SE, Gunvor Group Ltd., Vitol and Glencore plc and were brokered by Clarksons plc, ICE said. 

The Spark30S Atlantic contract allows market participants to manage price risk for round-trip voyages between the Gulf Coast and Northwest Europe, while The Spark25S Pacific contract allows hedging for round-trip voyages between Australia and North Asia. 

The...