Total February KCBT Trading Volume Exceeds January 2000 Volume By 50 Percent

Total exchange volume at the Kansas City Board of Trade in February exceeded January 2000 volume by 50 percent. Last month 172,701 contracts traded; this month 259,030 contracts traded. The surge in volume was mostly due to wheat futures trading, which increased 54.9 percent from last month. A new February record was set this month as 244,609 contracts traded, breaking the previous February record of 208,884 contracts set in 1996 by 17.1 percent. Traders noted that there was increased participation by funds in the wheat market this month. Also, weather factors have become more imminent as the hard red winter wheat crop has been receiving some rain and is coming out of dormancy, spurring more hedging action.