During February, trading in futures on the CBOE Volatility Index totaled 17,720 contracts, the second busiest month ever, and open interest stood at 19,819 contracts at month's end.
Meanwhile, options on VIX, traded at CBOE since February 24, 2006, have seen an average daily volume of nearly 7,500 contracts during the first three and a half weeks of trading, while open interest has risen sharply, standing at more than 109,000 contracts on Wednesday morning.
CFE offers futures on 25 different contracts, including: the CBOE Volatility Index, CBOE S&P 500 Three-Month Variance, CBOE DJIA Volatility Index, CBOE China Index, full and mini-size Russell 1000 Index, Mini-Russell 2000 Index, (12) "PowerPacks" sector indexes, and (6) "Gas at the Pump" contracts. CFE recently announced the addition of two new products: CBOE S&P 500 Twelve-Month Variance futures, scheduled to begin trading on Friday, March 24, 2006; and National Association of Realtors Existing-Home Sales Media Price futures contracts, expected to launch in the second quarter of 2006, pending regulatory approval.
CFE, launched in March 2004, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated, offering an all-electronic, open access market model, with traders providing liquidity and making markets. CFE, the newest futures exchange in the world, is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and its trades are cleared by the triple-A rated Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). More information on CFE and its products, including contract specifications, can be found at: www.cboe.com/CFE.
