The volume of thermal coal derivatives traded and cleared on the ICE platform fell 9% to 1.55 billion mt in 2018, the lowest full-year total since 2014, according to data from ICE Futures Europe and electronic trading platform globalCOAL Friday.
Total options traded in 2018 came to 304.37 million mt, down 24% to the lowest volume since 2013.
In 2018, the total volume of ICE Rotterdam derivatives fell 2% to 1.3 billion mt, with options traded for the contract totaling 286.88 million mt, a drop of 14%.
ICE Richards Bay derivatives for 2018 came to 50.8 million mt, down 11% with options coming in at 150,000 mt, down 86%.
GlobalCOAL's Newcastle derivatives traded in 2018 stood at 202.8 million mt, down 38%, with options coming in at 17.3 million mt, a drop of 75%.
The volume of derivatives traded in December totaled 49.54 million mt, a drop of 76.4% month on month and down 28.6% year on year to the lowest monthly volume since S&P Global Platts began collecting data in 2011.
The volume of options traded in December came to 335,000 mt, a drop of 99.5% on month and down 86.3% on year.
"Price volatility dropped off significantly in December -- combined with the characteristic seasonal lull, this lead to low traded volumes across the coal futures market," the report said.
"Despite a very active November, total volume traded across all of ICE's coal contracts across all of ICE's coal contracts in December amounted to just under 50 mil mt, with options volumes collapsing as year-end loomed," ICE said.
