Eurex: IRD Leads as Derivatives Trade Grow by 14% in April

Interest rate derivatives (IRD) showed the strongest year-on-year growth at Eurex, a Germany-based derivatives exchange, even as total traded derivatives contracts jumped 14% in April.

While Eurex’s IRD grew by 21% from 40.7 million traded contracts in April last year to 49.2 million in the same month this year, total traded derivatives increased from 119.7 million to 136.8 million within the same parameter.

Deutsche Börse AG, the owner of Eurex, announced these results on its website on Wednesday.

Eurex saw a 26% rise in total traded derivates contracts in March 2022, after total trading jumped from 195 million to 246.2 million. However, for the whole of the 2021 fiscal year, the exchange posted a 14% spike in IRD.

According to Börse AG, while equity index derivatives grew by 14% from 51.2 million traded contracts to 58.2 million, total contracts traded in equity derivatives grew again by 6%.

Börse AG further explained, “Outstanding notional volumes in over-the-counter clearing continued to grow strongly in April, rising overall by 19% year-on-year despite a successful compression run.

“Overall outstanding volume stood at EUR 27,422 billion at the end of April compared to EUR 23,034 billion the year before – with interest rate swaps and overnight index swaps posting growth of 30% and 134%, respectively.

“Average daily cleared volumes increased by 40% overall, with overnight index swaps (up 49%) again outpacing overall growth.”

A Strong Repo Market

Moreover, Eurex’s repurchase agreement (repo) market posted a very strong growth figure. It grew by 75% year-on-year (YoY).

“At Eurex Repo, average daily term-adjusted volume grew by 47% compared to April last year – up from EUR 135.7 billion to EUR 200.0 billion,” the exchange operator disclosed.

On the other hand, Eurex’s GC Pooling Market grew by a relatively smaller 4%.

In January, the exchange reported record volumes in its Euro clearing figures. In total, volumes across all products increased by 3% in the first month of the year.

On the contrary, the repo market was far stronger, as it increased in volume by more than 100% when compared to the same period last year.