Record Setting May At CBOE - Buoyed By Most-Active Trading Day And Week In CBOE History, Volume Of 70.5 Million Contracts Is Busiest Month In 33 Years, Up 103% From 2005

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced today that May was the busiest month in CBOE history as trading volume totaled 70,522,508 contracts. The record 70.5 million contracts traded during May surpassed the previous high of 55.0 million contracts from March 2006, and was 103% higher than May 2005 volume of 34.7 million. Average daily volume during May was 3.2 million contracts, a new high mark for CBOE and the first time ever that monthly average daily volume topped the three-million contract level.

Trading volume for both equity and index options set new monthly volume records in May. Volume in equity option classes rose 84% over May 2005 to a record 37.1 million contracts traded, surpassing the previous high of 35.0 million contracts traded in January 2006. For index options, total trading volume during May was 33.4 million contracts, an increase of 130% over May 2005, and besting the previous record of 22.1 million contracts traded in March 2006. New monthly volume records were set in several index options products, including: S&P 500 (SPX), Nasdaq-100 (NDX), Mini-Nasdaq-100 (MNX), S&P 100/European settlement (XEO), iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (IWM) and CBOE Volatility Index (VIX).

May's all-time record volume was driven, in part, by heavy trading during options expiration week. Volume during the five trading days from Monday, May 15 to Friday, May 19 was 22,216,890 contracts, the busiest week in CBOE history. On Friday, May 19, CBOE experienced the busiest single trading day in its history when 5,816,336 contracts traded, which topped the previous record of 5,642,589 contracts from March 16, 2006.

Exchange Volume, May 2006:
Total Volume

70,522,508 contracts

3,205,569 contracts, average daily volume

+103% vs year-ago (May '05)

Year-To-Date Volume

275,459,862 contracts

2,674,368 contracts, average daily volume

+53% vs year-ago

Open Interest

194,628,435 contracts

+28% vs year-ago (May '05)

May highlights at CBOE included:

On Wednesday, May 10, CBOE set a new single-day trading record in options on the CBOE Volatility Index, "VIX," when 123,993 contracts traded.For May, volume in VIX options was 1,020,097 contracts, with an average daily volume of 46,368 contracts, 257% above the previous month's volume. At the end of May, open interest stood at 803,597 contracts, up 129% from April 2006.

Several new trading records were set for options on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) during May, including: 1) total monthly volume: 11,117,952 contracts; 2) single-day volume: 1,287,151 contracts on Friday, May 19; and 3) weekly volume: 4,137,416 contracts, from May 15-19, 2006.

INDIVIDUAL INDEX VOLUME FIGURES FOR MAY 2006

	Product	Total Volume	% change vs May 05	% change vs Apr 06	Open Interest	% change vs May 05
SPX	S&P 500 Index	11,172,952 New Record	+103%	+63%	8,666,637	+15%
XSP	Mini-S&P 500 Index	116,195	-----	+0%	799,062	(-2%) vs Apr 06
SPY	Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts (SPDRs)	2,671,008	+133%	+95%	3,780,084	+36%
VIX	CBOE Volatility Index (options)	1,020,097 New Record	-----	+257%	803,597	+129% vs Apr 06
OEX	S&P 100 Index (American-Style Exercise)	1,915,966	+30%	+36%	502,423	+35%
XEO	S&P 100 Index (European-Style Exercise)	399,629 New Record	+165%	+138%	119,435	+129%
DJX	Dow Jones Industrial Average	930,535	+84%	+75%	804,919	+11%
DIA	DIAMONDS Trust, Series 1	1,052,157	+70%	+55%	1,352,429	+153%
NDX	Nasdaq-100 Index	837,690 New Record	+50%	+74%	639,960	+18%
MNX	CBOE Mini-NDX Index (based on Nasdaq-100)	763,554 New Record	+102%	+142%	2,152,997	+3%
QQQ	Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock	3,355,250	+52%	+67%	6,706,047	(-21%)
RUT	Russell 2000 Index	221,716	+173%	(-5%)	574,706	+296%
IWM	iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund	6,533,364 New Record	+491%	+157%	5,744,109	+299%
SMH	Semiconductor HOLDRs Trust	189,010	+80%	+3%	767,791	(-14%)
OIH	Oil Services HOLDRs Trust	386,667	+1,276%	+53%	534,272	+144%
XLE	Energy Select SPDR	875,575	+327%	+171%	1,547,992	+289%

CBOE, the world's largest options marketplace and the creator of listed options, is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For additional information about the CBOE and its products, visit the CBOE website at: http://www.cboe.com/