Connect to global oil markets
Built for the commercial trader. Traded by a global market. As global oil markets become more interconnected, risk management is crucial. Rising U.S. shale exports, growing Asian demand, and geopolitical challenges mean commercial participants demand precise, reliable tools to hedge and manage their risk.
ICE’s global crude oil and refined products complex includes Brent crude as the cornerstone, as well as Gasoil, WTI, Midland WTI American Gulf Coast (HOU), (Platts) Dubai, and Murban benchmarks.
These benchmarks are the foundation for over 600 related oil products including locational and refined spreads across 47 geographic markets. This means participants can access the products they need at the exact point of consumption or production.
Global Benchmarks
Price benchmarks do the "heavy lifting" for oil price discovery, enabling other grades to be traded in reference to the most liquid flat price instruments. This helps provide security and liquidity to the whole market.
Our crude complex centers on Brent, WTI, Midland WTI AGC, (Platts) Dubai and Murban, along with the most liquid market of related derivatives.
Gasoil forms the basis for our global refined complex as the most liquid distillate benchmark.
ICE Low Sulphur Gasoil is the benchmark for the middle part of the refined barrel and the world’s leading refined product benchmark for the oil market. It is an important hedging and trading tool, providing participants with access to a range of products in a single contract, and plays the same role for middle distillate oil that ICE Brent Crude plays for the crude oil market.
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Demand is rising for a RIN-less futures contract that represents the cross Atlantic flow of diesel and the domestic home heating oil barrel, as record distillate volumes are transported through New York Harbor.
The physically delivered futures contract provides an accurate hedging tool complimenting ICE’s Low Sulphur Gasoil futures with physical delivery of Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Antwerp (ARA) along with ICE’s Singapore Gasoil financially settled contract.
Listed as a ULSD 67 grade, the NY Harbor Ultra Low Sulphur Heating Oil is designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a heating oil, therefore the price of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) is excluded from the contract.
The ULSHO contract has a familiar physical delivery mechanism, expiry and rulebook, providing an efficient setup process and effective price discovery available for global market participants.
Maritime transport is central to the global economy, with over 90% of world trade carried by sea. New International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations, which limit Sulphur emissions in shipping bunker fuel, came into effect at the beginning of 2020.
To assist compliance with these regulations, participants can access critical risk management tools via our Marine Fuel complex. Comprised of over forty contracts, all settled against the S&P Global Platts Marine Fuel 0.5% assessments, these products operate alongside ICE’s deeply liquid benchmark Low Sulphur Gasoil, fuel oil and LNG markets
As worldwide legislations prioritize climate risk mitigation strategies, biofuels play a key role in meeting national goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. ICE’s futures offering includes a range of hedging tools for the biodiesel and bioethanol markets, comprising first and second-generation biofuels across several locations.
Wet freight is closely linked to the crude and refined oil markets and operates both East and West of the Suez Canal. Freight has become an active derivatives market and trading takes place in World scale points or USD per Metric Ton across several point-to-point routes. Price volatility in the global energy markets has seen an increase in participation by traders, commercial entities and banks in the wet freight derivatives market which provides opportunities for clients to hedge cargo movements
Leverage our breadth of options styles based on underlying benchmark contracts to invest or hedge with deep liquidity.
ICE Brent American-style Options are an effective investment and hedging tool with deep liquidity and screen execution. With a flexible exercise across the life of the contract, American-style Options result in the corresponding futures position. ICE offers a range of American-style options based on the legacy contracts, such as Brent, WTI, Midland WTI AGC, and Low Sulphur Gasoil.
Based on the underlying Brent, WTI and Heating Oil vs Low Sulphur Gasoil contracts, ICE European-style Options can be exercised on the expiry day and result in the settlement price of the related future
Based on the spread between two different futures expirations, ICE Calendar Spread Options allow participants the opportunity to invest or hedge the change in the shape of the term structure of the related future. Offered on 1-month, 6-month and 12-month differentials, Calendar Spread Options are available on several underlying contracts, such as Brent, WTI and Low Sulphur Gasoil.