By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- Rising interest rate futures trade at CME Group Inc. (CME) helped the exchange operator post average daily volume of 10.8 million contracts in October, the most of any derivatives exchange operator. CME reported that trading in Eurodollar and Treasury futures contracts rose over year-ago levels, a sign of stabilization in a market hit hard by bank and hedge fund deleveraging. All told, the Chicago-based exchange company traded 237 million contracts in October, ahead of Frankfurt-based rival Deutsche Boerse (DB1.XE), which traded 228.8 million contracts across its Eurex and International Securities Exchange derivatives units. Average daily volume at CME rose 2% from September, but remained 13% below the year-ago period, as the effects of the financial crisis continue to weigh on trading activity in core CME markets. Startup exchange ELX Futures LP, which is challenging CME for a piece of the Treasury futures market, reported its highest monthly volume in October with more than 1 million contracts traded and a 2.8% market share. Equity index futures trade at CME remained sharply lower, down 43% compared with the year-ago period, when the expanding financial crisis drove heavy trade in products linked to stocks. Energy trading on CME's New York Mercantile Exchange markets remained robust, up 22% over October 2008 and 10% higher than the previous month. Intercontinentalexchange Inc. (ICE) reported Tuesday that average daily volume across its futures markets rose 1% year-on-year as the Atlanta-based exchange operator reported a 17% rise in third-quarter profits, beating analysts' expectations. Commodity trade has remained generally robust compared to other futures markets, and ICE's energy focus has helped drive year-to-date volume 11% higher than the year-ago period, according to the company. -By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; (312) 750 4117; jacob.bunge@dowjones.com
