The international derivatives exchange Eurex is reporting another record trading year in 2005. Based on the preliminary figures, which include an estimate for the last two exchange-trading days of the year, a total of 1.527 billion contracts will be traded and cleared in 2006, an increase of 22 percent on the 1.25 billion contracts traded in 2005. This corresponds to a daily average trading volume of 6 million contracts. With these trading figures, Eurex further strengthens its position as the world’s largest derivatives exchange. Open interest on Eurex is currently at 93 million contracts. Open interest refers to the number of open positions in a future or options contract and is considered to be a key indicator of a derivatives market’s potential for sustainable future growth.
The fixed income derivatives segment will reach a total of 732 million contracts, an increase of 11 percent on 2005’s volumes (659 million contracts). The Euro-Bund future remains the highest-turnover product with some 320 million contracts (2005: 300 million contracts).
The segment of equity index derivatives has risen substantially in 2006 by about 45 percent to more than 487 million contracts traded, compared with 334 million contracts in 2005. The future on the DJ Euro STOXX 50 is the strongest in this segment with 213 million contracts traded (plus 53 percent). The equity options segment sees over 272 million contracts, an increase of about 6 percent. The relatively new segment single stock futures shows the strongest growth totaling 35.6 million contracts in 2006 after 77,800 contracts in 2005.
Further information
All of the turnover figures for the year 2006 are tentative; the turnover figures for the last two trading days of the year are estimated. The final statistics for 2005 will be available on 2 January 2007.