
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) is continuing to grow its Japan power futures business as market players’ interest in derivatives continues to increase.
July 2024 became the month with the second highest trading volume since EEX started offering Japan futures in May 2020 with 6TWh traded and last week, trading volume exceeded 2TWh, setting a new weekly record, the company said.
The number of companies trading Japan power futures on EEX increased from 49 in December 22 to 77 in June 2024 according to EEX’s H1 2024 update on Japan power futures. The Denki Shimbun reported today that the number has now reached 80. Earlier this week, it was reported that the Kansai Electric Power Company group company Kanden Energy Solutions will start trading on EEX.
The split between Japanese and international companies appears to be leaning slightly toward the latter based on EEX’s H1 2024 report, with international power traders and Japanese power retailers being the two largest groups among the trading participants.
In addition to continuing to grow its futures business, The Denki Shimbun reported that EEX is also planning to offer Japan power options trading starting later this fiscal year (i.e., before March 31, 2025). Currently, German, French, Italian, and Spanish power options can be traded on EEX.
While the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM), which started offering Japan power futures in 2019, was the first mover, it was quickly overtaken by EEX, which joined the market the following year. Today, EEX offers a wider variety of Japan power futures than TOCOM and holds over 90% market share. That said, trading volumes on both exchanges are growing.