Activity in the US dollar index on the IntercontinentalExchange rose 22% in 2011 to a record high and the number of options contracts on the index also almost doubled, as interest in using the index as a hedging tool in volatile markets increased. Total volumes of currencies futures contracts traded on the IntercontinentalExchange rose 19% in 2011. Meanwhile, the CME Group reported fourth-quarter FX volumes in 2011 7% lower than in 2010, though annual FX average volumes of 922,000 contracts per day billion were in line with last year’s figures.