Trading volumes on the Indian Energy Exchange surged nearly 79% month-on-month in April while benchmark gas prices jumped 58%, as rising summer electricity demand, tighter domestic supply and elevated LNG prices triggered sharp increase in spot gas procurement by power producers and city gas distributors.
IGX recorded monthly traded gas volumes of 8.54 million MMBtu, equivalent to around 215.16 million metric standard cubic metres (MMSCM), in April 2026, up 78.97% over the previous month.
At the same time, the exchange’s benchmark gas price index GIXI climbed to ₹1,577 per MMBtu, or around $16.9 per MMBtu, registering a steep rise of 57.99% month-on-month and 49.10% year-on-year.
Sharp increase in trading activity
The sharp increase in trading activity and prices comes amid heightened volatility in domestic and global gas markets following supply disruptions, elevated LNG prices and rising power sector demand during the early summer season.
Exchange-traded gas deliveries stood at 8.13 million MMBtu during the month, equivalent to around 6.83 million metric standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD).
According to IGX, the increase in traded volumes was “primarily driven by higher power demand”.
The power sector has increasingly turned to spot gas procurement in recent weeks as electricity demand surged sharply during heatwave conditions and thermal power plants faced rising stress during non-solar evening hours.
More than half of the traded gas volumes during April consisted of domestic high pressure high temperature (HPHT) gas sold at the ceiling price.
According to the exchange, around 53.08% of traded volumes comprised domestic HPHT gas procured largely by city gas distribution (CGD) companies to meet domestic piped natural gas (D-PNG) and transport CNG (T-CNG) demand.
The remaining 46.92% of traded volumes consisted of free market gas.
Nearly 17.52 MMSCM of domestically produced gas with pricing freedom was traded by producers at Bokaro (CBM), Jaya, Suvali and ONGC’s Hazira delivery points during the month.
Regional gas prices also witnessed sharp increases during April.
GIXI-West stood at ₹1,572 per MMBtu, broadly in line with the all-India benchmark price, while GIXI-East and GIXI-South were higher by 59.04% and 45.24%, respectively, reflecting regional supply-demand imbalances and transmission limitations.
The GIXI-Dahej benchmark for April stood at ₹1,522 per MMBtu, or around $16.3 per MMBtu, up 56.09% compared to the previous month.
IGX said GIXI-Dahej traded at around 5.58% discount compared with the WIM-Ex Dahej settled price for April 2026.
The surge in gas prices comes amid continuing disruptions in global LNG trade flows and tighter domestic gas availability.
India’s gas-based power generation has risen sharply in recent weeks amid record electricity demand and growing after-sunset supply stress, increasing reliance on spot gas procurement despite elevated prices.