Eurex is weighing the launch of natural gas futures as part of a broader push into energy contracts and other new asset classes by the derivatives exchange operator.

Listed natural gas futures remain a less mature market in Europe than in the U.S., but the broad industry move toward more central clearing has helped reduce the time-to-market for fledgling contracts, according to Brendan Bradley, global head of product strategy for Eurex.

"Given that central counterparty services are more and more valued after the credit crunch of last year, we're now looking at getting into those markets much earlier than we have in the past," Bradley said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

Interest rate and equity index futures constitute the vast majority of trading on Frankfurt-based Eurex, co-owned by Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE) and SWX Swiss Exchange, but in recent weeks the exchange has added metals and agricultural futures.

While new asset classes diversify Eurex's source of revenues, Bradley said the product launches followed investors' directing more money toward these areas during the recent commodities boom.

Energy markets are another area of potential expansion, Bradley said, though Eurex doesn't plan to challenge the dominance of CME Group Inc. (CME) or IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) in crude oil.

Natural gas is among the most actively traded energy products in the United States, but the picture is different in Europe, where regulators' efforts to spur competition among dominant suppliers, many of which are government-owned utilities, have stalled.

Bradley said any plans for natural gas futures on Eurex would depend on continued development of the underlying market, but participants' growing inclination to clear trades in over-the-counter energy products will help establish open interest, and eventually, listed products.

"It's a lot easier then, because you know the players and have the open interest, rather than starting from scratch," Bradley said.

In natural gas, Eurex would join the European Energy Exchange AG, which operates spot and futures markets in natural gas; Eurex holds a 44% stake in EEX, and the exchanges maintain a partnership in emissions trading, which Bradley said could extend to other markets.

EEX, which also trades power and coal futures, saw record volume in natural gas spot trading last January, with 237,126 megawatt hours traded across about 350 transactions.

Eurex would also contend with ICE Futures Europe, which facilitates trade in a handful of U.K. natural gas futures, though these represent a fraction of overall trading activity.

-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; (312) 750 4117; jacob.bunge@dowjones.com