JKM futures post record trade volumes on tender activity, inter-hub price swings

JKM LNG monthly futures posted record trading volumes on Jan. 13 and Jan. 14, as increased tender activity and sharp prompt price moves during the week fuelled liquidity across the curve, according to Intercontinental Exchange data and feedback from market participants.

Traded volumes climbed to 18,644 lots on Jan. 13 before accelerating further to an all-time high of 20,323 lots on Jan. 14, according to ICE data.

Combined, the two sessions cleared 38,967 lots - more than 2.5 times the previous record of 15,183 lots set on Nov. 14, 2025.

This is equivalent to about 7.5 million mt of LNG or 118 cargoes.

Trading activity was concentrated in 2026 delivery months, with March and April contracts leading flows. On Jan. 13, March accounted for 5,534 lots, followed by April at 3,533 lots. The pattern repeated on Jan. 14, with March again topping activity at 4,901 lots and April at 3,645 lots, showed ICE data.

Liquidity also spilled into the Platts Asia LNG derivatives market-on-close (MOC) assessment process, which recorded a daily high of 72 trades on Jan. 15.

While prompt months dominated overall activity, Jan. 14 also saw increased flows in outer-year contracts, as participants extended hedges amid strong liquidity conditions. Volumes traded in 2027-2029 delivery months totaled 5,246 lots across the two sessions.

One regional broker attributed the surge primarily to a flurry of buy and sell tenders across the Pacific basin. Around 13 tenders closed during the week ending Jan. 16, including buy tenders from Taiwan's CPC, Japan's Kansai Electric, Tohoku Electric, Thailand's PTT, Vietnam's PV Gas and India's BPCL for February and March delivery cargoes, according to market participants.

On the sell side, PE Wheatstone, Kyushu Electric, Oman LNG, Angola LNG, Nigeria's NNPC, Brunei LNG, and Ichthys LNG offered similar delivery windows, according to market participants, while QatarEnergy closed a tender for loading across March-December 2026, Platts reported Jan. 7.

The broker also cited sharp moves in inter-hub spreads as a catalyst for trading activity. Colder-than-usual weather expectations in Europe widened the JKM-TTF spread, prompting increased hedging activity, according to the broker.

"It has been quite the week. It's a good market at the moment. We do like a liquid market," the broker said. "JKM/TFU March has moved from minus 25 cents on Monday to minus 85 cents today."

Weather forecasts for central and eastern Europe point to another cold spell, prompting higher withdrawal rates and supporting prices despite strong LNG inflows earlier in the season, European LNG traders said.