CBOT Options On Mini-Sized Dow Futures Set Open Interest Record

The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT®) announced today that open interest in its options on mini-sized Dow^SM Jones futures reached a new record yesterday, surpassing the 10,000 mark for the first time.

Open interest in the CBOT's options on mini-sized Dow futures climbed to 10,538 contracts, compared with the prior record of 9,935 contracts reached on April 2. Launched in February 2004, the contract is the first CBOT futures on options product to trade exclusively on the exchange's superior electronic trading platform.

CBOT President and CEO Bernard W. Dan said, "The success of the CBOT's options on mini-sized Dow futures underscores the premier functionality of our sophisticated electronic trading platform. Our customers value the CBOT market model because it is the exchange that specializes in offering highly liquid, transparent markets. The CBOT's mini-sized Dow options market makers are doing an excellent job of providing tight, deep markets in what has become one of the exchange's fastest growing options product."

The open interest record coincides with significant volume increases in the underlying CBOT mini-sized Dow futures contract, which posted average daily volume of 89,215 contracts in March, up 150 percent from March 2003.