CME Euro Fx Futures Set New Open Interest Record As Euro Value Sets New Lows

Open interest in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's (CME) Euro FX currency futures contract hit an all-time high following Wednesday's trading session as the new euro currency continued to hit new lows against the U.S. dollar. Following Wednesday's trading session, open interest in Euro FX futures stood at 54,516 positions, up 6,567 contracts over the prior day's close. Liquidity in Euro FX has also picked up in recent sessions as new participants have entered the market for the first time. The latest surge in open interest in the Euro FX further widened the open interest gap between the Euro FX futures and CME futures on the Deutsche mark, the principal currency being eclipsed by the euro. The open interest gap between the two contracts stood at 20,010 positions following the Wednesday session. "We have seen a continuing shift from the Deutsche mark to the Euro FX contract over the past two months," said currency trader Yra Harris, who also serves as chairman of the CME's Foreign Currency Committee. "As we get closer to the expiration of the June 1999 contracts on both the Euro FX and the Deutsche mark in the middle of next month, it's likely that the gap will widen further." The CME began trading Euro FX futures and options on Jan. 4 in connection with the start of European Economic and Monetary Union. The CME also trades futures and options contracts on Euro FX cross rates with the Swiss franc, the British pound and the Japanese yen.