Sydney Futures Exchange Experiences Record Trading Volumes On The 3 Year Treasury Bond Options Contract

Sydney Futures Exchange experienced record daily trading volumes for trade date Monday 6 February in the SFE 3 Year Treasury Bond term options contract. A total of 33,000 contracts were traded, the highest one day volume in term options since the move to electronic trading.

The record volumes resulted from 3-legged strategies executed in the March 2006 put and call options in the lead up to US employment data being released.

Peter Hiom, Executive General Manager, Exchange Business Development said, “The options trade was executed under the Exchange’s pre-negotiation rules which allows customers to structure option deals prior to transacting on screen. The flexibility that these rules provide Participants combined with the presence of an Official Market Maker providing on screen price transparency, resulted in increased term options activity in 2005 and 2006.”

Total volumes in the SFE 3 Year Treasury Bond term options were up 29% in 2005 compared to the prior year.