CME marks new single-day record in natural gas futures, options trading

Jan 21 (Reuters) - Derivatives exchange CME Group said on Wednesday that its natural gas complex reached a new single-day record of 2,576,346 contracts traded on January 20.

This figure was 15% higher compared with the previous daily record of 2,239,081 contracts traded on November 14, 2018.

"As demand for heating increases across the U.S., clients are turning to our natural gas markets in record numbers to manage their price risk," said Peter Keavey, global head of energy and environmental products at CME Group.

U.S. natural gas futures jumped about 23% to a six-week high on Wednesday after soaring 26% on Tuesday on expectations extreme cold weather will boost heating demand to near-record levels while also cutting output by freezing oil and gas wells. NGA/