In August 2008, total trading volume in all derivative instruments was 700 thousand instruments. The number of open interest was 108 thousand contracts at the end of August.
The total volume of trading in derivative instruments year to date was 8 million instruments, equal to 81% of the total volume in all of 2007. The volume of trading was 11.8 million instruments in the past 12 months.
A record-high monthly volume of trading in exchange rate futures contracts at 12,999 contracts was reported in August. The previous record of 7,327 contracts was reported in July 2008. The volume of trading on the market was 48,702 contracts year to date in 2008 (January-August). By comparison, the volume was 6,101 exchange rate futures contracts in all of 2007.
On 8 August 2008, daily volume of trading in exchange rate futures contracts was record-high at 1,296 contracts.
Major EventsOn 4 August 2008, the WSE modified the abbreviated names of all futures contracts. The number of digits designating futures contracts expiration year was increased. Currently, abbreviated names include only the last digit of the year of expiration. The new name will include the last two digits of the year of expiration (for example, a futures contract with the abbreviated name FW20Z8 where the last digit indicates that the contract expires in 2008 will have the name FW20Z08). The modification is effective as of 22 September 2008, after the expiration of futures contracts in September.
As of 1 September 2008, trading sessions on the derivative instruments market will be 30 minutes longer. First transactions can be made as of 8:30 (previously 9:00) and trading will continue without change until 16:30.
Table 1Volume of trading (including block trades) in August 2008, January – August 2008, and September 2007 – August 2008 (last 12 months), and the number of open positions at the end of August 2008, by derivative instrument category.
Source: WSE data
|
No. |
Instrument |
Volume of trading (#) |
Number of open positions, end of August 2008
(#) |
||
|
August 2008 |
January – August
2008 |
September 2007 – August 2008 |
|||
|
1 |
WIG20 OPTIONS |
25 350 |
212 163 |
341 319 |
33 649 |
|
2 |
WIG20 CONTRACTS |
637 254 |
7 514 489 |
11 129 502 |
60 216 |
|
3 |
mWIG40 CONTRACTS |
1 478 |
14 907 |
23 324 |
413 |
|
4 |
TECHWIG CONTRACTS |
0 |
1 141 |
3 340 |
0 |
|
5 |
STOCK CONTRACTS |
22 400 |
183 891 |
254 147 |
4 625 |
|
6 |
CURRENCY CONTRACTS |
12 999 |
48 702 |
52 746 |
1857 |
|
7 |
WIG20 PARTICIPATION UNITS |
866 |
17 557 |
28 774 |
7 082 |
|
|
TOTAL |
700 347 |
7 992 850 |
11 833 162 |
107 842 |
Annual volume of trading (including block trades) in all derivative instruments listed on the WSE (million instruments)
 |
Source: WSE data
Figure 2
Total number of open interest in derivative instruments at the end of the year between 1998 and August 2008 (thousand instruments).
Source: WSE data
