CBOE Volume Rises 51% In November; Monthly Volume In S&P 500 Index Options Breaks All-Time Record

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced today that November volume totaled 34,767,192 contracts traded, an increase of 51% over the November 2003 volume of 23,084,363 contracts, while CBOE's year-to-date volume of over 330 million contracts traded is up 29% over 2003. Options on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) were the most-actively traded index options at CBOE during November as volume totaled 5,115,322 contracts, an increase of 74% over 2003. This total also represents a new all-time record for monthly volume in SPX options at CBOE, besting the previous high of 4,485,404 contracts in October 2004. Of the ten most actively-traded months for SPX options in CBOE history, nine have been recorded in 2004.

Exchange Volume, November 2004:

Total Volume
·34,767,192 contracts
·+51% vs year-ago (Nov 03)
·+4% vs previous month (Oct 04)

Average Daily Volume
·1,655,581 contracts
·+36% vs year-ago (Nov 03)
·+4% vs previous month (Oct 04)

Open Interest
·153,480,760 contracts
·+19% vs year-ago (Nov 03)
·+3% vs previous month (Oct 04)

Year-To-Date Volume
·330,432,120 contracts
·+29% vs YTD 2003

November highlights at CBOE included:

During November, volume in index options rose 50% as over 12 million contracts traded, while volume in stock option classes (equities) increased 51% with over 22 million contracts traded.
On Wednesday, November 24, annual trading volume at CBOE reached 327,263,022 contracts -- a new all-time high for total volume at CBOE, surpassing the previous annual volume record of 326,359,531 contracts traded in 2000.
Volume in CBOE Oil Index (OIX), a price-weighted index composed of 15 large and widely held integrated oil companies, was up 5,702% in November, and YTD is 1,685% ahead of '03.
Total volume for November at the CBOE Futures Exchange, which launched on March 26th, was 11,126 contracts, up 18% over October. Open interest stood at 8,583 contracts.

CBOE, the world's largest 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, visit the CBOE website at: http://www.cboe.com/.