The previous overall open interest record was set Sept. 10, 1998, at 10,174,745 positions. For Eurodollar futures, Friday was the sixth consecutive trading day of record open interest. Eurodollar options had their third consecutive record day on Friday. Previously, the open interest record for options stood at 3,258,458 positions reached on Sept. 11, 1998.
Open interest is the number of futures and options contracts outstanding at the close of trading each day. Open interest can be seen as a measure of the use of risk management instruments by institutions and individuals with a long-term stake in the markets, as well as the liquidity of a contract.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com) is an international marketplace that brings together buyers and sellers on its trading floors and GLOBEX2 around-the-clock electronic trading system. CME offers futures contracts and options on futures primarily in four product areas: interest rates, stock indexes, foreign currencies and agricultural commodities. On Nov. 13, 2000, CME finalized its transformation into a for-profit, shareholder-owned corporation as it became the first U.S. financial exchange to demutualize by converting its membership interests into shares of common stock that can trade separately from exchange trading privileges. The exchange moves about $1 billion per day in settlement payments, manages $25 billion in collateral deposits and administers more than $1 billion of letters of credit.
