KCBT wheat volume traded last month transcends previous April record

Kansas City Board of Trade wheat futures volume trading during the month of April amounted to 203,992 contracts, breaking the previous April record of 203,194 contracts set in 1997. Wheat futures volume was 31.7 percent more than last April and 6.4 percent higher than last month. Open interest grew 36.1 percent in wheat futures when compared to last year and 4.3 percent when compared to last month. Wheat options volume increased 77 percent compared to last April, while open interest climbed 40.9 in the same time period. The increases in wheat futures and options volume traded in April led to overall volume increases. Exchange volume exceeded the amount traded in March by 2.9 percent and was 26.9 percent more than April 1998. Exchange volume was 223,558 contracts, compared to 217,341 contracts last month and 176,181 contracts last April. Again this month, excellent crop conditions in hard red winter wheat growing areas led to escalated hedging use by producers, providing the overall volume increase, traders said. Mini Value Line options volume traded during the month of April was 3.5 percent more than March and open interest increased when compared both to last month and last April.