2010 Trading Volume at CBOE Futures Exchange Sets New Annual Record

CHICAGO, Jan. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE) today announced that 2010 was the busiest trading year in its history as a total of 4,402,378 contracts changed hands. The record volume during 2010 surpassed the previous high of 1,161,019 contracts traded in 2008 by 279 percent, as well as the 1,155,318 contracts that traded in 2009 by 281 percent.

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Average daily volume during 2010 reached a new high of 17,470 contracts, up 281 percent when compared to the 4,585 contracts per day from the previous year.

2010 Highlights

• The top eleven most-active trading months all-time at CFE occurred in 2010.
• Total trading volume for each month in 2010 posted a year-over-year increase versus 2009.
• 2010 was the largest year-over-year trading volume increase (+281%) ever at CFE.
• 70,754 contracts traded on November 16; 211,157 contracts traded the week of November 15; and 751,481 contracts traded during the month of November; new all-time highs for daily, weekly and monthly volume at CFE.
• Fourth quarter was the busiest quarter in CFE history with a total volume of 1,787,035 contracts traded.
• VIX futures set new records for daily, weekly, monthly and annual volume in 2010.
• CFE began listing Weekly options on VIX futures on September 28.
• On December 10, CFE extended the trading hours for VIX futures, from 8:30 to 7:20 a.m.

December Volume

December was the second busiest month ever at CFE as a total of 556,250 contracts traded, an increase of 294 percent over the 141,002 contracts traded in December 2009.  When compared to the record 751,481 contracts traded during November, December 2010 volume was down 26 percent.  December marked the fifteenth consecutive month in which total volume registered an increase when comparing year-over-year trading activity.  Average daily volume for the month was 25,284 contracts, up versus the 6,410 contracts per day in December 2009, but down from the record average daily volume of 35,785 contracts during November 2010.

VIX Futures

Volume in VIX futures, based on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), totaled a new record of 4,392,446 contracts traded during 2010, up 284 percent from the previous high of 1,144,188 contracts in 2009.  Average daily volume for the year was a new high of 17,430 contracts, surpassing the 4,540 contracts per day in 2009 by 284 percent.  In addition to a new high in annual volume, VIX futures set several other trading records in 2010, including:

• Single-Day Volume:  70,704 contracts (November 16)
• Total Weekly Volume:  210,995 contracts (November 15 – 19)
• Total Monthly Volume:  750,914 contracts (November)
• Monthly Average Daily Volume:  35,758 contracts (November)
• VIX Futures Open Interest:  172,028 contracts (November 15)

For the month of December, volume in VIX futures was 555,494 contracts, exceeding the 140,781 contracts traded in December 2009 by 295 percent, but trailing the record 750,914 contracts traded in November 2010 by 26 percent.  Average daily volume in VIX futures during December was 25,250 contracts, compared with 6,399 contracts per day from December 2009 and the record 35,758 contracts per day from November 2010.

Trading in CBOE mini-VIX futures totaled 9,560 contracts traded during 2010, a three percent increase from the 9,275 contracts traded in 2009.  In December, volume in CBOE mini-VIX futures tallied 716 contracts, compared with 209 contracts traded in December 2009.  Volume in CFE's newest contract -- Weekly options on VIX futures -- was 40 contracts in December and a total of 182 contracts since their launch on September 28, 2010.

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: http://cfe.cboe.com.

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CBOE®, Chicago Board Options Exchange®, CFE®, CBOE Volatility Index® and VIX® are registered trademarks, and CBOE Futures Exchange(SM) and Weeklys(SM) are servicemarks of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (CBOE).  Standard & Poor's®, S&P® and S&P 500® are registered trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and have been licensed for use by CBOE.

SOURCE Chicago Board Options Exchange