Futures & Options On RTS Stock Exchange FORTS: Weekly Market Data

For the week of July 28th - August 1st, 2003, daily average trading volume on FORTS (Futures & Options on RTS) equaled 466 thousand contracts and 3 214 million rubles, compared with 577 thousand contracts and 4 098 million rubles. The number of transactions reached 13 666, down from 15 524 transactions last week. Total open interest as of August 1st, 2003, stood at 448 thousand contracts or 2 979 million rubles in underlying value.

Futures contracts traded 13 109 times, compared with 15 091 times the previous week. Futures total trading volume reached 428 thousand contracts, or 2 980 million rubles in underlying value (the previous week showed 556 thousand contracts and 3 951 million rubles).

FORTS options trading volume increased by 59% in rubles, from 147 to 233 million rubles, and by 81% in contracts, from 21 to 38 thousand contracts. Options traded 557 times, 27% up on 433 times.

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 7 years. RTS acts as the trading system and the clearinghouse on the integrated market. 84 companies from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan and Abakan FORTS participants trade 7 futures contracts and 3 options.