KCBT Wheat Options Volume Sets New Record For Month Of March

Trading volume at the Kansas City Board of Trade continued to set records in the wheat options contract. Previously, the most volume traded during any given March was 22,658 contracts, which was in 2001. In March 2002 trading volume was 25,288 contracts, an increase of 11.6 percent.

Value Line, futures also posted an increase for the month of March when compared to the previous month. In March 2002 1,598 contracts traded, which is an increase of 29.2% compared to February 2002.

Open interest in wheat options at the end of March was 26.7 percent higher than at the end of February and 71 percent higher than in March 2001. Wheat futures open interest posted a 6.0 percent increase when compared to last year and Value Line, futures posted a 16.5% increase in open interest compared to last year.

"More and more people are using Kansas City wheat options to meet their hard red winter wheat needs, and speculative and commercial interests are being met on both sides of the market," said Markus Groebner, a Kansas City wheat options trader.