CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) Options Trade 274,360 Contracts, Setting New All-Time Record Today

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced that reported volume in options on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), totaled 274,360 contracts today, Wednesday, May 16, beating the previous single-day volume record of 208,872 contracts set on March 8, 2007. VIX is the widely disseminated benchmark index of market volatility and investor sentiment, sometimes referred to as the market's "fear gauge."

Launched in February 2006, average daily volume for VIX options during April was 55,557 contracts, making it the third most actively traded index and the sixth most actively traded product at CBOE. Today's trading activity in VIX options was spread across strike prices and months, with more than 20,000 June 17 calls, 37,000 June 20 calls, 29,000 November 18 calls, 17,000 June 15 puts and 77,000 November 12 puts trading. Open interest across all VIX options stood at 1,434,350 contracts (1,074,582 calls and 359,768 puts) at the start of trading this morning.

VIX options trade on the February expiration cycle with June, July, August, September and November 2007, and February and May 2008 expirations currently available. Tuesday, May 15th, was the last trading day for VIX options with May 2007 expiration and those contracts settled and expired at today's opening.

So far in 2007, the low for VIX is 9.70, recorded on February 14th, and the highest level for the year is 21.25, established on March 14, 2007. Historical data and more information on VIX can be found at http://www.cboe.com/VIX.

CBOE, the largest U.S. options marketplace and the creator of listed options, is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For additional information about the CBOE and its products, access the CBOE website at: http://www.cboe.com/.