September Trading Volume At CBOE Futures Exchange Increases 33% Over August - September Was Second Busiest Month Ever At CFE, Weekly Options On VIX Futures Launched On September 28

The CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE) today announced that September 2010 trading volume totaled 387,464 contracts, compared to 144,016 contracts during September 2009.  September was the second most active trading month on record at CFE, trailing only the 481,650 contracts traded in May 2010, and marked the twelfth consecutive month in which total volume registered an increase when comparing year-over-year trading activity.  September volume increased 33 percent from the 291,533 contracts that traded during August 2010. 

Average daily volume (ADV) of 18,450 contracts during September was the second highest monthly ADV ever at CFE and exceeded the year-ago ADV of 6,858 contracts.  When compared to 13,250 contracts per day during August 2010, ADV in September rose 39 percent.   

Volume for the third quarter of 2010 totaled 949,011 contracts, an increase when compared to the 124,628 contracts from the third quarter of 2009, but down slightly from the 1,039,632 contracts traded during the second quarter of 2010.  CFE's year-to-date trading volume of 2,615,343 contracts is ahead of the 641,874 contracts for the same period in 2009.  Year-to-date ADV is 13,911 contracts, versus the 3,414 contracts per day in 2009.  

September volume in VIX futures, based on the CBOE Volatility Index (ticker VX), totaled 386,969 contracts traded, exceeding the 143,585 contracts in September 2009, and was 33 percent above the 290,995 contracts in August.   ADV in VIX futures during September was 18,427 contracts, compared to the 6,837 contracts per day a year ago and the 13,227 contracts per day from the previous month.    

On Tuesday, September 28, Weekly options on VIX futures began trading at CFE.  Weekly options on VIX futures - with American style expiration and physical settlement - are initially featuring four consecutive contracts with weekly expirations on Fridays, allowing investors to select a contract with either one, two, three or four weeks to expiration.  CFE adds a new contract when the near-term contract expires.  With this launch, all key pieces of the VIX product suite are available on CBOE's electronic technology platform, CBOEdirect - cash-settled CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) options, VIX futures, options on volatility-related exchange traded notes (ETNs), and now, Weekly options on VIX futures.  For an overview and complete product specifications on Weekly options on VIX futures, refer to http://cfe.cboe.com/Products/Spec_VIXWeeklys.aspx.

Volume in CBOE mini-VIX futures (ticker VM) totaled 472 contracts for the month, an increase of 11 percent from the 427 contracts traded in September 2009, but a decrease of 12 percent from the 536 contracts traded the previous month.  CBOE mini-VIX futures contracts are one-tenth the size of CFE's standard CBOE VIX futures contract.  Additional details on VIX futures can be found at: http://cfe.cboe.com/Products/Products_VM.aspx.

CFE currently offers futures on five different contracts, including: the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), Weekly options on VIX futures (VOW), CBOE mini-VIX (VM), CBOE S&P 500 3-Month Variance (VT) and CBOE S&P 500 12-Month Variance (VA). 

CFE, a wholly owned subsidiary of CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE), offers an all-electronic, open-access market model, with traders providing liquidity and making markets.  CFE trades are cleared by the AAA-rated Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). CBOE Futures Exchange is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).  

More information on CFE and its products, including contract specifications, can be found at: www.cboe.com/CFE.