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ICE Futures U.S.(TM), a leading regulated U.S. futures exchange for global agricultural, equity index and currency markets, set a new exchange-wide electronic volume record yesterday, surpassing 600,000 contracts for the first time in a single day. The exchange also established new daily volume records in its mini and full- size Russell 2000(R) Index futures contracts, leading into the transition this Friday to exclusive trading on ICE.
On Monday, September 15, 2008, volume in the mini Russell 2000 futures contract totaled 363,215 contracts, 33% higher than the previous record established last Thursday, September 11. Volume in the full-size Russell 2000 Index futures contract set a new record yesterday of 5,111 contracts, 70% higher than the previous record established on May 7, 2008. Exchange-wide electronic volume reached a new all-time high of 618,987 contracts, surpassing by 16% the previous record also set on September 11.
Open interest in the mini and full-size Russell 2000 futures has increased from 1,377 contracts at January 1, 2008, to a record 619,094 contracts as of September 15, based on mini equivalents.
On Friday, September 19, Russell Index futures and options on futures contracts will for the first time trade exclusively on ICE. Over $4.4 trillion in assets and more than 99% of small cap institutional assets are benchmarked to Russell indexes.
Free real-time market data for the mini Russell 2000 index futures contract is now available via the ICE website at www.theice.com. Daily volume in the mini Russell 2000 futures contract is published on ICE's homepage.
