The commodities market is not just experiencing a cyclical upswing; it’s undergoing structural changes that are reshaping global trade, risk management and market participation. That’s the core message from Derek Sammann, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Commodities Markets at CME Group, who has seen sustained commodities growth driven by powerful underlying forces.
“2025 has been another record-breaking year for activity at CME Group, particularly on the commodity side, with a record of 5.8 million contracts traded on average daily. This is not isolated; we came off a record year across the entire commodities complex in 2024. This is a multi-year growth story,” Sammann noted in a recent interview.
While cyclical factors, such as weather patterns and short-term demand fluctuations, can influence prices, Sammann emphasized that today’s market drivers are increasingly “structural in nature.” Amid these changes, a growing proportion of essential commodity products are now originating from the U.S., Sammann said. This fundamental shift underscores a growing need for benchmark commodity products.
One of the most significant structural forces within commodities is the internationalization of U.S.-based benchmarks, particularly in the energy sector.
“We believe that growing global benchmarks attract customers who want to be in the deepest, most liquid markets in the world,” Sammann explained. “Our WTI contract is the global benchmark for crude oil, and our Henry Hub natural gas benchmark is the global marker for the largest export market in the world – that’s what customers are drawn to.”
A key driver of this transformation is the U.S.’s ascent as a major exporter of both crude oil and natural gas, surpassing traditional leaders like Australia and Qatar. With record WTI crude and natural gas exports, and a projected near-doubling of Henry Hub LNG capacity by 2028, the U.S. is not merely filling a void created by geopolitical changes; it’s laying a new foundation for global energy markets.
The shift has exposed a new generation of international buyers to U.S.-based crude oil and Henry Hub.
“We’re seeing a huge adoption of existing energy traders in Europe and Asia who are newly exposed to physical flows coming from the U.S. and that’s adding net new customers to our customer base – not only from a trading volume point of view but an open interest point of view as well,” Sammann said.
Furthermore, the role of natural gas has evolved from a seasonal commodity to a fundamental energy source. As Sammann explains, “the gas season has expanded to almost 12 months, as natural gas has become an input and a driver of energy creation in the U.S. and globally as well.”
