ICE Interest Rate Futures Markets Reach Record Open Interest
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global operator of financial exchanges and provider of financial market technology and data, has reported record open interest across its interest rate futures markets, highlighting continued growth in demand for its European rates products. The milestone was driven in particular by record open interest in ICE Euribor and €STR futures, two key contracts used by market participants to manage and express views on euro-denominated interest rate risk.
According to ICE, its interest rate futures markets reached a record 14.5 million contracts in open interest on September 2, 2026, representing a 25% increase year-over-year. The record demonstrates the growing participation in ICE’s interest rate derivatives markets and reflects the importance of futures contracts as tools for managing exposure to changing monetary policy, funding costs and interest rate expectations.
Within the broader interest rate portfolio, Euribor and €STR futures delivered particularly strong performance. ICE Euribor futures reached record open interest of 5.8 million contracts, an increase of 16% year-over-year. At the same time, ICE €STR futures reached record open interest of 3.3 million contracts, representing a substantial 109% year-over-year increase.
The growth across both contracts underscores the increasing role of ICE’s European rates markets in providing participants with access to liquidity and instruments spanning different points of the euro interest rate curve. Market participants can use the contracts to hedge existing exposures, manage portfolio risk, position around expectations for monetary policy and express views on the direction of short-term and medium-term euro interest rates.
Strong Growth Across European Rates Markets
ICE’s European rates offering includes both Euribor and €STR futures, giving customers access to complementary instruments that address different aspects of euro interest rate risk.
Euribor is a key benchmark for managing short-term euro-related interest rate risk. It is widely used by financial market participants seeking to hedge or gain exposure to euro interest rate movements over various maturities. €STR, meanwhile, reflects the wholesale euro unsecured overnight borrowing costs of banks located in the euro area and provides market participants with an instrument tied closely to overnight euro funding conditions.
Together, the two futures markets provide a broad toolkit for participants looking to manage risk and express market views along the euro rates curve. The combination allows customers to navigate movements ranging from overnight funding costs through to expectations for interest rates over the medium term.
The record open interest figures indicate that market participants are increasingly using these contracts as part of their risk-management and trading strategies. Higher open interest can also indicate greater participation and the accumulation of positions by market users, providing an important measure of the scale and depth of a derivatives market.
Caterina Caramaschi, Vice President of Financial Derivatives at ICE, said the record levels demonstrate customers’ confidence in the company’s European rates markets and the liquidity available through its benchmark contracts.
The record open interest across Euribor and €STR futures reflects the confidence customers have in ICE’s European rates markets and the depth of liquidity across our benchmark contracts,” said Caterina Caramaschi, VP of Financial Derivatives at ICE.
She added that the liquidity available through ICE’s markets allows participants to manage interest rate exposure with greater precision while operating through a single capital-efficient venue. That capability becomes particularly important when financial markets experience elevated uncertainty and interest rate expectations can shift rapidly.
This liquidity enables market participants to manage interest rate risk with precision from a single, capital-efficient venue, which is critical during periods of heightened uncertainty,” Caramaschi said.
€STR Futures Deliver Significant Year-Over-Year Expansion
Among the latest figures reported by ICE, the growth in €STR futures stands out. Open interest in the contracts reached 3.3 million contracts on September 2, 2026, more than doubling from the level recorded a year earlier, with growth of 109% year-over-year.
The sharp increase reflects expanding participation in a market designed to provide exposure to euro overnight interest rate expectations. Because €STR reflects wholesale unsecured overnight borrowing costs for banks in the euro area, futures linked to the benchmark can provide market participants with a way to manage risks associated with changes in short-term euro funding conditions.
The substantial rise in open interest also adds to ICE’s broader European rates offering, giving customers another instrument through which to position across the euro curve. Euribor and €STR contracts can be used independently or together depending on a participant’s particular risk profile, trading strategy or view of the interest rate environment.
Euribor futures also reached a new milestone, with open interest climbing to 5.8 million contracts, up 16% year-over-year. The performance highlights continued demand for one of the principal instruments available to market participants managing short-term euro interest rate exposure.
By offering both benchmarks within its rates portfolio, ICE provides customers with access to different reference points in the euro interest rate market. This breadth can be especially valuable for institutions managing complex portfolios where exposure may extend across multiple maturities and types of interest rate risk.
Multi-Currency Rates Portfolio Broadens Market Access
The growth in European rates comes as part of ICE’s broader strategy of providing a multi-currency portfolio of interest rate products. The exchange operator emphasized that its offering spans multiple geographies, currencies and maturities, allowing customers to manage exposures and express market views across the global rates landscape.
Caramaschi highlighted the breadth of ICE’s portfolio as a key advantage for market participants seeking to manage interest rate exposures across different markets.
As the only exchange offering a truly multi-currency rates portfolio, customers benefit from our breadth of contracts spanning geographies, currencies and tenors, helping them to express market views across the global rates landscape,” Caramaschi said.
This multi-currency approach allows customers to access euro rates alongside products linked to other major interest rate markets. For financial institutions with internationally diversified portfolios, having multiple rates markets available through the same exchange ecosystem can help streamline trading and risk-management activity.
The ability to access contracts across geographies also allows participants to compare and manage relative interest rate exposures between markets. As monetary policy conditions vary between regions, global investors, banks, asset managers and other financial institutions can require tools that allow them to manage exposures in several currencies simultaneously.
Continued Strength in U.K. Interest Rate Products
ICE’s European rates offering extends beyond euro-denominated products. Customers can also trade U.K. interest rate products, including SONIA futures and options and Gilts futures and options.
SONIA futures and options serve as a benchmark for managing U.K. interest rate risk. ICE reported that open interest in its SONIA products increased 68% year-over-year, demonstrating strong growth in activity within the U.K. rates market.
ICE also provides Gilts futures and options, which serve as a benchmark for managing exposure to the U.K. bond yield curve. Open interest in these products increased 4% year-over-year.
The performance of these products adds another dimension to ICE’s interest rate offering. With both euro and U.K. markets available, customers can manage exposure to interest rate movements across two of Europe’s major financial markets.
The combination of Euribor, €STR, SONIA and Gilts products also gives market participants the ability to implement strategies based on different segments of the European rates environment. Such flexibility can be particularly useful for institutions managing portfolios exposed to multiple benchmarks or jurisdictions.
Global Expansion Across Interest Rate Markets
ICE’s interest rate product portfolio extends beyond Europe and the U.K. The company also offers rates contracts covering Australian, Japanese, Swedish and Norwegian markets, as well as SARON, the Swiss benchmark.
The geographic breadth of the offering supports ICE’s objective of providing customers with a comprehensive set of tools for managing interest rate risk across global markets. Different economies operate under distinct monetary policy frameworks, funding environments and yield curves, creating different types of risks for global investors and financial institutions.
By providing futures and related derivatives across multiple currencies and regions, ICE enables customers to manage these exposures through a broad financial derivatives complex.
The range of products also means market participants can use ICE’s exchange infrastructure to access contracts across different tenors and currencies, rather than relying on a single-market offering. This breadth can be particularly relevant for global banks, asset managers, hedge funds, institutional investors and other participants with diversified portfolios.
Financial Derivatives Complex Continues to Expand
ICE’s interest rate futures performance forms part of a broader expansion across its financial derivatives business. The company’s interest rate and equity derivatives markets together make up its broader financial derivatives complex, with overall open interest increasing 36% year-over-year.
This growth indicates that demand for exchange-traded derivatives remains strong across multiple areas of the financial markets. Interest rate derivatives allow customers to hedge and trade changes in borrowing costs and monetary policy expectations, while equity derivatives provide instruments for managing exposure to equity markets.
ICE also reported a record across its financial futures business. On September 2, 2026, ICE’s financial futures reached record open interest of 16.9 million contracts, representing a 21% increase year-over-year.
The record highlights the scale of activity across ICE’s futures markets and reinforces the role of exchange-traded derivatives in global capital markets.
Liquidity and Risk Management Remain Central
The latest open interest figures come at a time when interest rate markets remain important to financial institutions and investors seeking to manage uncertainty. Changes in monetary policy, inflation expectations, economic growth and funding conditions can have significant effects on portfolios and balance sheets.
In such an environment, liquid futures markets can provide participants with mechanisms to adjust their interest rate exposures efficiently. Open interest is one of the key indicators used to assess the depth and participation of a derivatives market, while liquidity can influence the ability of market users to enter, adjust and exit positions.
ICE’s record interest rate open interest therefore represents more than a numerical milestone. The figures point to continued customer adoption of the exchange’s benchmark contracts and growing use of its European rates markets.
The particularly strong increase in €STR futures suggests expanding demand for instruments tied to euro overnight interest rate expectations, while the continued growth of Euribor futures demonstrates sustained participation in established euro short-term rate products.
At the same time, growth in SONIA products shows that demand extends across the U.K. market, while ICE’s offerings in Australia, Japan, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland broaden the platform’s international reach.
A Broader Platform for Global Rates Trading
The combination of record open interest in Euribor and €STR futures, continued growth in U.K. rates products and a broad multi-currency portfolio positions ICE as a significant venue for participants managing global interest rate exposure.
The September 2, 2026 milestones provide a clear indication of the scale of activity across ICE’s rates markets. With 14.5 million contracts of open interest in its interest rate futures markets, up 25% year-over-year, the company reached a new record while its broader financial futures business also established a record of 16.9 million contracts, up 21% year-over-year.
Within the interest rate portfolio, Euribor reached 5.8 million contracts and €STR reached 3.3 million contracts, with the latter recording triple-digit annual growth. The performance demonstrates strong customer engagement across both established and growing benchmark products.
For market participants, the availability of multiple benchmarks, currencies, geographies and maturities provides a broad framework for managing risk and expressing views on global interest rates. ICE’s strategy of bringing these markets together within a multi-currency rates portfolio is designed to give customers greater flexibility while supporting efficient access to liquidity.
As financial markets continue to respond to changing economic conditions and monetary policy expectations, the demand for precise and efficient interest rate risk-management tools is likely to remain an important component of global derivatives activity. ICE’s latest records underscore the continuing importance of its interest rate futures markets and the expanding role of Euribor and €STR contracts within the global capital markets ecosystem.
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