By Everdeen Mason
CME Group Inc.'s (CME) December daily trading volume rose as a
major jump in interest-rate and energy contract volumes offset a
drop in its other product lines, while rival exchange
IntercontinentalExchange Group (ICE) reported a jump in futures and
options contract volume.
Exchanges are seeing an increase in business this year from
handling swap trades, which lawmakers in the U.S. and Europe
targeted for stricter regulation after some privately traded
derivatives markets, such as for credit default swaps, were blamed
for deepening the 2008 financial crisis.
CME, parent company of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, said on
average 10.9 million contracts were traded daily in December, up
13% from a year earlier. More than 228 million contracts total were
traded in December, with 85% traded electronically.
Interest-rate volume averaged five million contracts a day, up
38% from a year earlier. CME runs the leading franchise in U.S.
interest-rate futures and has long been seen as a natural place for
traders to clear swap contracts linked to similar rates.
Energy index volume rose 16% to 1.5 million contracts a day.
Equity index volume, however, dropped 7.3% to 2.5 million contracts
per day.
Eurodollar futures volume climbed 51% to an average of two
million contracts a day, while treasury futures volumes rose 6% to
1.8 million contracts a day.
Meanwhile, Eurodollar options averaged 652,000 contracts a day,
up drastically--142%--from last year, and treasury options rose 66%
to 536,000 contracts a day.
ICE reported its daily volume for options and futures increased
16% to 3.2 million contracts year over year as its largest segment,
natural gas, rose 34%.
ICE reported its ICE Brent futures and options volumes increased
10%, its ICE power volumes jumped 3.3%, and its ICE oil and ICE
natural gas volumes rose 10% and 34% respectively. ICE equity index
futures and options volumes decreased 7.5%.
Write to Everdeen Mason at everdeen.mason@wsj.com
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