Additionally, open interest in Eurodollar options on futures has set records for four consecutive days beginning on Friday, Aug. 3 with 7,235,279 and reaching 7,513,464 on Wednesday, Aug. 8. Eurodollar futures also set an open interest record yesterday with 4,712,932 positions, besting its previous record of 4,668,396 set Friday, Aug. 3.
The open interest growth in Eurodollars pushed open interest in CME interest rate products to new highs for four consecutive days beginning on Friday, Aug. 3 at 11,999,326 and reaching 12,324,363 positions on Wednesday. Total options in all products exchange-wide set open interest records beginning Friday, Aug. 3 at 7,745,315 and reaching 8,049,625 yesterday.
Open interest is the number of futures and options contracts outstanding at the close of trading each day. As of June 30, Eurodollar futures, introduced in 1981, represented the world's most actively traded futures contract. CME also has the largest futures and options on futures open interest of any exchange in the world, with 12.2 million contracts open as of June 30, 2001. Eurodollar options were launched in 1985. Also traded in the interest rate complex are contracts based on One-Month LIBOR, Euroyen and Treasury bills.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com) is an international marketplace that brings together buyers and sellers on its trading floors and GLOBEX®2 around-the-clock electronic trading system. CME offers futures contracts and options on futures primarily in four product areas: interest rates, stock indexes, foreign exchange and 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 $1.5 billion per day in settlement payments and manages $28.4 billion in collateral deposits.
