Kansas City Board Of Trade July Volume And Open Interest Exceeds June Tally

The Kansas City Board of Trade volume traded during the month of July was the largest since last September, with 334,978 contracts traded. Both wheat futures and wheat options trading volume increased over last month's levels.

Wheat futures trading volume of 281,596 was the largest since September 2002, and exceeded June 2003 volume by 7.6 percent. Open interest also climbed 30 percent in the past month, to 68,123 contracts.

Wheat options trading continued its active pace, with 34.4 percent more traded in July than in June. Year-to-date volume is ahead of last year at this time by 3.8 percent. Open interest has swelled 54.2 percent when compared to the end of last month.

The Kansas City Board of Trade, chartered in 1876, is the world's largest futures market for hard red winter wheat.