RTS FORTS: Weekly Market Data

For the week of July 14th- July 18th, 2003, daily average trading volume on FORTS (Futures & Options on RTS) equaled 741 thousand contracts and 5 217 million rubles, compared with 757 thousand contracts and 5 415 million rubles. The number of transactions reached 15 926, down from 17 905 transactions last week. Total open interest as of July 18th, 2003, stood at 425 thousand contracts or 2 750 million rubles in underlying value.

Futures contracts traded 15 418 times, compared with 17 318 times the previous week. Futures total trading volume reached 709 thousand contracts, or 4 956 million rubles in underlying value (the previous week showed 705 thousand contracts and 5 012 million rubles).

FORTS options trading volume equaled 33 thousand contracts or 261 million rubles in underlying value, compared with 52 thousand contracts and 402 million rubles the week before. Options traded 508 times, down from 587 times.

FORTS, a unified derivatives market operating since September 19, 2001, is based on trading and settlement technologies and software that were implemented at and have been successfully used by St. Petersburg Stock Exchange for 7 years. RTS acts as the trading system and the clearinghouse on the integrated market. 84 companies from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan and Abakan FORTS participants trade 7 futures contracts and 2 options.