E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures rose to record open interest levels for a fourth consecutive session that began on June 7 with 114,175 positions and reached 133,538 positions yesterday. EuroFX futures had two consecutive days of open interest records, reaching 114,364 yesterday, besting its previous record on June 11 of 111,876 positions.
Also on Tuesday, electronic trading volume in currency futures (eFX) posted a record 23,123 contracts amid volume records in EuroFX and Swiss franc futures, with 9,904 and 5,047 contracts traded respectively. The previous single-day eFX volume record was set on May 23 with 20,280 contracts.
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. CME's open interest on futures and futures on options is the highest among exchanges worldwide.
CME launched "side-by-side" electronic and open outcry trading of CME currency and cross-rate futures contracts on April 2. Information on electronic currency trading, including eFX trading volumes, new GLOBEX®2 ticker symbols and a Quote Vendor Symbol Guide, is available on the CME Web site at www.cme.com/market/currency/sxsresource located in the Currency Futures Side-by Side Resource Center.
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 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 $28 billion in collateral deposits and administers more than $1 billion of letters of credit.
