CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) announced today that Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) will each launch a new volatility index product based on the CBOE Crude Oil ETF Volatility Index (OVX) in coming weeks.
CBOE Crude Oil ETF Volatility Index security futures (OV) will begin trading on CFE on Monday, March 26, and options on the OVX Index will begin trading on CBOE on Tuesday, April 10.
OVX Index products, based on listed options prices of the United States Oil Fund, LP (USO) — the ninth most-actively-traded ETF options contract in the U.S. last year — will allow traders to hedge volatility risk associated with crude oil futures prices.
CBOE began disseminating values on the OVX Index in 2008. The OVX Index calculation is derived from applying CBOE's VIX® methodology to the prices of CBOE-listed options on USO.
OVX Index products will be the most recent additions to a series of CBOE and CFE volatility index products launched this year. CFE began trading CBOE Emerging Markets ETF Volatility Index security futures (VXEM) on January 9, and CBOE began trading CBOE Emerging Markets ETF Volatility Index (VXEEM) options on January 31. CBOE Brazil ETF Volatility Index security futures (VXEW) and CBOE Brazil ETF Volatility Index (VXEWZ) options opened for trading on February 21 on CFE and on March 6 on CBOE, respectively.
Barclays Capital will serve as the Lead Market Maker (LMM) for OV security futures traded on CFE, and Group One Trading will serve as the Designated Primary Market Marker (DPM) for OVX options traded on CBOE.