The new daily volume record for CME replaces the one established Feb. 4, 1994, of nearly 2,191,819 million contracts.
Record GLOBEX2 volume of 423,804 contracts marked the first time volume on the system has exceeded 400,000 contracts, just three weeks after it broke through the 300,000 level for the first time. The volume soared past the March 13 record of 364,284 contracts.
Open interest of 11,692,054 positions surpassed Tuesday’s record of 11,551,925 positions. Several of the exchange’s largest products notched new record open interest levels, including Eurodollar futures, with 4,338,283 positions; Eurodollar options on futures, with 4,925,756 positions; and S&P 500 futures, with 572,426 positions.
The GLOBEX2 volume was fueled by a second consecutive record day for trading in CME’s E-mini equity index futures – the fastest growing products in the history of the exchange. March 14 volume in E-mini S&P 500 futures was 183,181 contracts, compared to 175,420 the previous day. E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures reached a record 146,423 contracts, besting the March 13 record of 144,763.
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.
