Pit trade volume in feed wheat futures set a new daily volume record on February 23, 2001 reaching 4,383 contracts. The previous one-day feed wheat volume record was established November 26, 1993 at 3,578 contracts. Monthly volume levels in February for feed wheat futures rose 82.7% to 20,230 contracts, compared to 11,072 contracts established in the same month one year earlier. Feed wheat futures experienced active trade across all listed months, with noticeable interest in the newly designed feed wheat contract (effective with the Oct 01 contract and subsequent months).
Total monthly futures volume, for all commodities combined, reached an all-time record level of 316,272 contracts, 19.3% higher than the previous record established in October 2000. Crop year-to-date total futures volume for 2000/01 came in at 1,534,972 contracts, well ahead of the 1,360,895 contracts traded during the same period one year earlier. Total futures open interest set new record levels at 111,083 contracts on February 13, 2001. The previous record for open interest in total futures was set April 14, 2000 at 109,789 contracts. Total futures open interest as of February 28, 2001 was 109,823 contracts, 11.3% above year-ago levels.
Record pit trade levels were also achieved in futures and options combined for the month of February, up 18.0% to 320,843 contracts, compared to the previous record established in October 2000 at 271,932 contracts. Total options and futures crop year-to-date volume for 2000/01 reached 1,571,681 contracts, compared to 1,400,329 at the same time in the 1999/00 crop-year. Total options and futures open interest levels saw a 9.0% increase as of February 28, 2001 compared to year ago levels.
