CME total interest rate volume was a record 3.3 million contracts per day in April, up 12 percent from the same period a year ago. This increase was driven by continued growth in CME Eurodollar options, up 42 percent to a record 1.3 million contracts per day. Electronic average daily volume of CME Eurodollar options grew to a record 79,000 contracts per day during the month, more than doubling from 29,000 during April 2005, representing 6.1 percent of the total CME Eurodollar options volume, the highest monthly percentage to date. This was spurred in part by a record 293,000 Eurodollar options contracts traded on the CME Globex platform on April 28, representing 20.1 percent of total Eurodollar options volume. The prior daily record for Eurodollar options traded on the CME Globex platform was January 27, when 184,000 contracts were traded.
Average daily volume of CME foreign exchange products was 432,000 contracts, up 41 percent compared with April 2005, the highest non-roll volume month. In April, electronic foreign exchange products increased 49 percent to a record 379,000 contracts per day from the same period last year.
All statistics in this news release exclude data on CME's non-traditional TRAKRS(R) products, and CME Auction Markets(TM) products, unless otherwise noted. All references to options refer to options on futures contracts.
Trading in CME E-mini(TM) equity index products averaged 1.4 million contracts per day in April, down 3 percent compared with April 2005. Total equity options volume grew 65 percent to a record 88,000 contracts per day during the month. CME E-mini options average daily volume more than doubled month over month, averaging 29,000 contracts per day. CME Equity Standard products grew 10 percent to 113,000 contracts per day. CME commodities and alternative investments volume reached 69,000 contracts per day in April, up 53 percent over the same period a year ago.
Open interest for all CME products was a record 45 million contracts at the end of April, up from 30 million contracts at the end of December. Additionally, the Chicago Board of Trade had 16 million open positions with CME Clearing at the end of the month. Open interest represents the number of contract positions that remain open at the end of a trading session.
CME MONTHLY AVERAGE DAILY VOLUME (In Thousands)
April 2006 April 2005 Percent Change
CME PRODUCT LINE
Interest Rates 3,284 2,933 12%
E-Minis 1,426 1,475 -3%
Equity Standard 113 101 12%
Foreign Exchange 432 307 41%
Commodities and Alt. Inv. 69 45 53%
Sub Total 5,326 4,862 10%
TRAKRS 177 29 513%
Total 5,502 4,891 12%
VENUE
Open Outcry 1,644 1,409 17%
CME Globex (Ex TRAKRS) 3,630 3,413 6%
Privately Negotiated 51 41 25%
Note: CME Weather and GSCI products moved from Equity Standard to Commodities in April, and prior months were adjusted.
CME RATE PER CONTRACT THROUGH MARCH 2006 (excluding TRAKRS)
Average Rate Per Contract (In Dollars)
Rolling Three-Month Average
By Product Line By Venue
Commo-
dities
3-Month Foreign and Open Privately
Period Interest E- Equity Ex- Alt. Out- CME Nego-
Ending Rates Minis Standard change Inv. Total cry Globex tiated
Mar-06 0.493 0.712 1.431 1.253 0.953 0.652 0.477 0.679 3.583
Feb-06 0.506 0.703 1.452 1.251 0.972 0.669 0.496 0.688 3.659
Jan-06 0.506 0.708 1.440 1.216 0.962 0.672 0.502 0.689 3.670
Average Daily Volume (In Thousands)
Rolling 3 Month Average
By Product Line By Venue
Commo-
dities
3-Month Foreign and Open Privately
Period Interest E- Equity Ex- Alt. Out- CME Nego-
Ending Rates Minis Standard change Inv. Total cry Globex tiated
Apr-06 3,100 1,403 145 423 74 5,144 1,561 3,526 57
Mar-06 2,919 1,408 145 407 80 4,958 1,467 3,435 57
Feb-06 2,477 1,315 140 394 69 4,395 1,273 3,068 54
Jan-06 2,324 1,268 139 394 68 4,193 1,183 2,960 51
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ: CME) became the first publicly traded U.S. financial exchange on Dec. 6, 2002. The company was added to the Russell 1000(R) Index on July 1, 2003. It is the parent company of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com), the world's largest and most diverse futures exchange. As an international marketplace, CME brings together buyers and sellers on its CME Globex electronic trading platform and on its trading floors. CME offers futures and options on futures primarily in interest rates, equities, foreign exchange and commodities. The exchange managed $47.0 billion in collateral deposits at March 31, 2006, including $3.8 billion in deposits for non-CME products.
Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward- looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. More detailed information about factors that may affect our performance may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which can be obtained at its Web site at www.sec.gov. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward- looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME, the globe logo and CME Globex are registered trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. E-mini is a trademark of CME. CLEARING 21 is a registered trademark of CME and New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. S&P, S&P 500, NASDAQ-100, Nikkei 225, Russell 1000, Russell 2000, TRAKRS, Total Return Asset Contracts and other trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks that are not proprietary to Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. are the property of their respective owners, and are used herein under license. Further information about CME and its products is available on the CME Web site at www.cme.com.
