Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) reported new records in trading activity at European and Asian natural gas hubs as the global export market heats up.

Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) futures achieved record open interest of about 1.94 million contracts on May 26, representing a 21% increase year/year, according to ICE. The benchmark earlier in May had previously set a record of 1.93 million contracts, for a year/year increase of 20%.

“Natural gas has become a global market and the record levels of open interest and strong trading activity in TTF and JKM LNG futures reflect how these contracts are at the forefront of global natural gas price formation,” said ICE’s Gordon Bennett, managing director, Utility Markets. “The increased utilization of JKM by participants...