- Total 2017 Volume 25.2 Billion Contracts, Down 0.1% from 2016
- Year-End Open Interest 839 Million, Up 6.5% from 2016
- Global Trading of Interest Rate Futures and Options Rose to Record Level
- Agricultural Futures and Options Volume Fell to Lowest Level Since 2013
FIA today released summary statistics for annual trading activity in the global exchange-traded derivatives markets.
The number of futures and options that changed hands on exchanges around the world stayed roughly the same in 2017 as in 2016, according to FIA's data. The total number of contracts traded in 2017 was 25.199 billion, down 0.1% from 25.220 billion in 2016.
There were variations by product types, however. Options volume globally was up 11.0%, while futures volume was down 6.6% on 2016. There were also variations in volume trends across different regions, with trading activity on exchanges in the Americas rising during 2017, but not enough to offset a decline in trading activity on exchanges in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
In terms of categories, interest rate futures and options trading rose to a record level in 2017, but trading in energy, metals and other commodity futures and options declined compared to 2016. The biggest drop was in agricultural futures and options, which fell to 1.3 billion contracts, the lowest level since 2013. Meanwhile, equity index volume bounced back 5.6% after a decline the previous year, with single stock futures and options seeing a similar growth rate.
In contrast to the flat trading volume data, the total number of open positions at the end of the year was 839.3 million contracts, a record amount of open interest, and up 6.5% from 787.9 million in 2016. Options accounted for the bulk of open interest, rising 9% to 602.1 million contracts or 71.7% of total. Futures open interest was essentially unchanged at 237.2 million.
Open interest on North American exchanges rose 5.6% to 460.2 million, more than half of the global total. Asia-Pacific exchanges, despite having almost as much volume as their counterparts in North America, had only a fraction of the open interest. Open interest on exchanges in that region was 68.8 million contracts at year-end 2017, only 8.2% of the global total.
FIA's statistics on volume and open interest are collected from 79 exchanges operated by 54 companies in 34 countries. The statistics are based on the number of contracts traded and/or cleared on these exchanges.
More detailed information is available in the following spreadsheets, including exchange rankings and top contracts by category for 2017 as well as summary statistics on annual regional and category trends for volume and open interest over the last 10 years.
FIA will hold a webinar on Feb. 14 to provide more information about the trends in futures and options trading volume. Click here to register.
FIA also publishes statistics on trading activity on swap execution facilities and customer funds held at futures commission merchants in the U.S. To access these statistics, visit the industry data page at www.fia.org.
