Last month was the largest-volume November in the history of the Kansas City Board of Trade, keeping the exchange on target to set a new annual trading record in the next few days. At the close of trade November 30, the exchange had traded 2,508,782 contracts. In 1999 the exchange traded 2,524,376 contracts, a difference of only 15,594 contracts with a month of trading left in the year. Wheat futures year-to-date trading volume was at 2,284,532 contracts at the close of trade November 30, leaving a gap of just 36,527 contracts to break the wheat futures annual record.
Wheat options volume traded in November was 26,434 contracts, which was a new record for the month of November. The previous record of 12,304 contracts was set in 1992. The total exchange volume traded in November broke all previous records for November. In November 1999 traded volume was 246,433 contracts; this amounts to an increase of 5.4 percent.
Wheat options activity continued to benefit from a larger local trading base, which has injected more capital and liquidity into the market, making the contract more feasible for futures commission merchants.
