FORTS (Futures & Options On The RTS Stock Exchange) Derivatives Market

For the week of May 24th – May 28th, 2004, total trading volume on FORTS (Futures & Options on the RTS) grew 5% in rubles and 4% in contracts and reached 994 thousand contracts and 7 621 million rubles. Total open interest as of May 28th, 2004 increased by 1% in rubles and 3% in contracts and reached 9 114 million rubles and 1 214 thousand contracts.

FORTS, a unified derivatives market operating since September 19, 2001, is based on trading and settlement technologies and software that were implemented at and have been successfully used by St. Petersburg Stock Exchange for 8 years. RTS acts as the trading system and the clearinghouse on the integrated market. 86 companies from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan and Abakan FORTS participants trade 8 futures contracts and 3 options.