FO Intelligence
CME Group's trading volume in February was the highest for any month since October 2008 - just before derivatives activity slumped as the financial crisis hit traders. Average daily volume in February was 12.5m contracts, 17% more than last February. Total volume was 238m contracts.
Chiefly responsible for the improvement was a revival of CME's interest rate products. Interest rate volume rose 37% year-on-year to 5.7m contracts a day and Treasury futures grew 55% to an ADV of 2.7m. Treasury options volume swelled by 14% to 273,000 a day. Eurodollar futures leapt 28% to 2m a day and Eurodollar options increased by 6% to 615,000.
Foreign exchange products are also thriving as investors struggle to assess the effects of the crisis's aftermath on major currencies. Volume in these contracts grew 82% year-on-year to an ADV of 931,000.
Record volumes were reached in the euro, Australian dollar and Canadian dollar contracts, with ADV of 362,000, 119,000 and 88,000 respectively. A statement from CME said this was partially due to: “The pressure on the euro from the Greece news and the continued appetite for high-yielding currencies like the Australian dollar and Canadian dollar.”