Euronext will introduce Container Freight Cash-Settled Futures contracts in Europe, settled to the Xeneta Shipping Index by Compass (XSI®-C).

Access the replay: webinar “Introducing Euronext Container Freight Futures” 

The Euronext Container Freight Cash-Settled Futures contracts will provide an effective solution to face volatile ocean freight rates, while empowering the shipping industry with the same tools used in commodities and finance. 
 
With prices based on the Xeneta Shipping Index by Compass (XSI®-C) daily freight rate benchmark, administered by Compass, Euronext’s Container Freight Futures will bring predictability, transparency, and opportunity to freight pricing. 

The introduction of Container Freight Futures responds to a growing recognition that freight rate hedging is the missing link in comprehensive supply chain risk management. Euronext Container Freight Futures address the industry's need for effective tools to manage geopolitical uncertainty, capacity fluctuations, and shifting demand. With this initiative, Euronext provides both the logistics sector and the financial community with a long-awaited, robust solution for managing freight rate risk.

Who are Container Freight Futures for? 

Importers, exporters (shippers), freight forwarders, NVOCCs, ocean carriers, logistics procurement teams, as well as investors and traders looking to hedge container freight rate risk, secure logistics costs, or take positions on freight rate movements with daily price transparency and central clearing.

Why trade Container Freight Futures?

Volatility Protection 
Freight futures provide a hedge against unpredictable rate fluctuations, reducing exposure to sudden cost surges or drops. 

Price Transparency 
Continuous trading and daily publication of index pricing (via Xeneta’s XSI®-C) enhance visibility in a traditionally opaque market.  

Budget Stability 
More predictable logistics costs and revenues support accurate financial planning and help prevent margin erosion. 

Competitive Advantage 
Early adoption enables more stable pricing models and improved negotiation leverage with supply chain partners.
 

Key features of the Euronext Container Freight Futures include:

Route-Specific Contracts 
Hedge exposure with precision using contracts tailored to four major trade lanes for Forty-Foot Equivalent Unit (FEU) containers across Asia–Europe, Transatlantic, and Trans-Pacific routes: 

• Far East to Northern Europe 

• Far East to US West Coast 

• Northern Europe to Far East 

• Northern Europe to US East Coast 

Each contract corresponds to a selected corridor and is linked to the Xeneta XSI®-C, enabling granular risk management across both headhaul and backhaul flows. 

Market Transparency 
Continous trading on a central order book that reflects real-time freight rate movements. Establishing the first forward curve for container shipping, enhancing price discovery and planning. 

Financially Settled, No Physical Delivery 
Contracts are cash-settled in USD, eliminating the need to move containers or manage physical delivery. At expiry, Euronext Clearing handles final settlement based on the difference between the traded price and the index value — simplifying participation for both logistics and financial players. 

Central Clearing & Risk Management 
All trades are centrally cleared through Euronext Clearing (CCP), which guarantees contract performance and eliminates bilateral counterparty risk. Margining and robust risk controls provide security and market stability, even in volatile conditions. 

Flexible Contract Maturities
Futures are listed on a hybrid cycle with five expiries per year: March, April, June, September, and December. This structure allows for short-term hedging of seasonal price spikes or longer-term exposure management. 

Index-Linked Pricing 
Each futures contract is based on Xeneta’s trusted XSI®-C index — a neutral, independent benchmark of real market container freight rates sourced from a global data pool. 

Broad Market Access 
Open to a wide range of participants: shippers, NVOCCs, freight forwarders, ocean carriers, shipowners, brokers, and institutional investors. This inclusive design concentrates liquidity in a single, transparent marketplace and supports dynamic two-way trading.

For more information

Contact the Euronext Commodities team at Commodities@euronext.com  

Visit the official index calculation agent's website

Access the webinar replay  “Introducing Euronext Container Freight Futures” organised on 26 June 2025, where Euronext and Xeneta provided an overview of the project, shared some technical details and answered questions.

Following the binding agreement to acquire Nasdaq’s Nordic Power Futures business, Euronext confirms that the transfer of open interest from Nasdaq Clearing to Euronext Clearing is scheduled to take place over the weekend of 14 March 2026.

This migration will follow the technical launch of the Euronext Nord Pool Power Futures market, which will benefit from Euronext Clearing’s proven risk model and comprehensive clearing services.

Clearing Members Readiness
 

The onboarding documentation for Clearing Members is accessible on Connect.

The External User Acceptance (EUA) environment has been available to support testing of the Euronext Nord Pool Power Futures Market since 17 March 2025.

Migration rehearsals

The successful completion of at least one migration rehearsal is mandatory for all Clearing Members with open interest to be migrated. This must be conducted in close coordination with their respective Trading Members. The rehearsal is a critical step to simulate the migration of positions under conditions identical to the actual migration weekend, thereby validating the robustness of procedures and controls. To participate meaningfully, clients must be fully set up in the Production environment prior to the start of the migration rehearsal window.
 

Migration milestones

The migration of open interest from Nasdaq to Euronext Clearing and the wind-down of Nasdaq’s Nordic Power Futures trading and clearing services, are both contingent on the completion of the transaction between Euronext and Nasdaq. The remaining regulatory approval for Euronext Clearing is expected by the end of June 2025.

For further information, contact the Euronext Clearing Sales team at

 CCP-sales@euronext.com

Thanks to a combination of market and regulatory drivers, repo clearing looks set to grow globally.  From June 2025, Euronext will broaden its repo clearing services — responding to client demand and preparing for potential regulatory shifts.

This expansion initiative – which includes expanding the scope of European government bonds beyond Italy, enhancements to liquidity, collateral optimisation and risk management capabilities and the inclusion of an attractive GC basket and enhanced client clearing access – is a key part of Euronext’s “Innovate for Growth 2027” strategy, launched in November 2024.

In this DerivSource Q&A, Janina Marks, Head of Sales and Business Development – Derivatives & Clearing, Euronext, shares why Euronext Clearing is doubling down on repo, how this will benefit market participants, and what the roadmap looks like.   

Q: What are the main market and regulatory drivers you are seeing in the repo space?

A: Not long ago, we had a market were cash chased collateral. Now it’s the other way around — collateral is chasing cash. That's largely due to tighter liquidity conditions, driven largely by central banks unwinding their asset purchases and reinvestments.

At the same time, regulation continues to reshape the space. European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), Securities Financing Transaction Regulation (SFTR), and broader prudential rules have made repo markets more resilient, but also more complex — especially around reporting, counterparty risk, and margin processes.

Even though overall availability has improved, we still see pinch points — often seasonal or jurisdiction-specific — that drive up funding costs and dampen liquidity. That’s why clearing is becoming more attractive. It’s also something regulators have looked closely at, including the Bank of England in its Gilt market review.

Q: Can you walk us through the roadmap for the Repo Expansion Initiative—separated into 2 distinct phases—and why certain European government bonds (like Irish, Portuguese, and Spanish) are being prioritised?   

A: Sure — we’ve broken this down into two phases.

Phase 1, which we’re calling the “Repo Foundation,” goes live in June 2025. This includes adding Irish, Portuguese, and Spanish government bonds to our coverage, plus enhanced collateral management and optimisation features through our triparty agent (TPA) collaboration with Euroclear. That’s just the first of several collaborations we plan with leading TPAs, aimed at helping firms optimise their balance sheets.

We’re also adding new eligible currencies and securities, so clients can work with more flexibility in terms of collateral.

This phase is designed for banks and Debt Management Offices (DMOs) trading and clearing on a principal basis. We’re aligning with the product suite available on MTS — part of the Euronext Group — and offering the full value chain: trading, clearing, and settlement, all in one place.

We’re starting with these three bond markets but will expand to a broader range of European sovereigns – German, French, Dutch, Belgium, and Euro-denominated in Q3 2025 and Austrian and Finnish will follow by the end of Q4 2025.

Then comes Phase 2, – The Repo Expansion – set for go-live in June 2026. That’s when we scale up further — bringing in new trading venues, more triparty providers and settlement platforms, and launching a sponsored access model for the buy side and agency clearing firms.

We’re also developing tradeable triparty GC baskets, and a range of additional product enhancements. So, lots to come — stay tuned.

Q: How has the increased interest in repo clearing informed Euronext’s “Innovate for Growth 2027” strategy?

A: It’s been a huge driver. One of the clearest messages from the market was the need for a pan-European solution — not just fragmented national offerings.

We’ve built on our strengths across the full value chain: trading through MTS, multi-asset clearing with Euronext Clearing, and the strong network of Euronext Securities (our CSDs). That foundation gave us the confidence to scale our repo services and support clients more holistically.

And it goes beyond repo. We’re expanding our fixed income franchise with the launch of mini futures on European government bonds. We’re also building our commodities offering with new power derivatives and the acquisition of Nasdaq’s power derivatives open interest (subject to regulatory approval).

Q: How does your experience clearing Italian government debt provide a foundation for this broader initiative?   

A: It’s our starting point — and a strong one. We’ve been clearing Italian government debt for around 25 years and currently have over 50 clearing members connected to our platform.

That experience gives us credibility and scale. More broadly, we believe having multiple CCPs in the ecosystem encourages competition, drives service improvement, and helps spread counterparty risk.

Q: Aside from expanding coverage, what are the key improvements you’re introducing to the repo clearing service?

A: By mid-2026, we’ll offer a broad range of European government bonds as mentioned, supported by a dynamic Value-at-Risk (VaR) model that delivers margin efficiency and cost savings.

We’re also rolling out enhanced collateral management through TPAs, a flexible GC basket offering to improve access and liquidity provision, and direct buy-side access to the clearinghouse.

Q: That sounds great. You mentioned collateral optimisation previously. Can you expand on this for the readers? How are you improving collateral optimisation?

A: We’re starting with Euroclear, our first TPA collaboration, and will add more over time. This makes it easier for clients to connect using their existing infrastructure and helps them put their collateral to work more efficiently.

TPAs handle corporate actions, substitutions, and help clients meet margin calls — all in a streamlined, automated way. It’s a big step forward in terms of operational efficiency.

Q: How does Euronext Clearing differentiate itself — whether through access, cost, or efficiency?

A: We’re laser-focused on making it as easy as possible for clients to connect — across trading, clearing, and settlement.

On the collateral side, our TPA partnerships give clients the flexibility to plug into our services without overhauling their existing systems.

As mentioned, our dynamic VaR margin model is another key differentiator — it optimises costs while ensuring risk protection. And because we’re a multi-asset platform, firms benefit from lower costs, better operational resilience, and the ability to consolidate their services with a single provider.

Q: Looking ahead: Are there other strategic initiatives under the “Innovate for Growth 2027” plan where you see strong potential for impact?   

A: Yes, as mentioned earlier, we have several in the pipeline including the launch mini bond futures designed for retail-sized trading — a first for Europe in September.

We are keen to work with clients to codesign solutions for gaps in the market and will continue to listen to market feedback.