The April total for the entire exchange amounted to 310,387 contracts, besting the previous April record of 290,966, set just last year, by 6.7 percent.
Trading in the wheat futures contract also set a new record for the month of April with 288,931 contracts traded, an increase of 10.1 percent over last year’s record tally of 262,411 contracts.
The surge in trading volume was attributed to the rolling of positions from the May contract into the deferred contract months in advance of First Notice of Delivery in the May contract last Friday, liquidation in the May contract in advance of expiration, and increased fund activity.
Year-to-date volume for the wheat futures contract is running 10.4 percent ahead of last year’s figure at this time. Total exchange volume is running 5.9 percent ahead of last year at this time.
The Kansas City Board of Trade, chartered in 1876, is the world's largest futures market for hard red winter wheat.
