CME Group Strikes New Daily Record Open Interest of 123 Million Contracts

Chicago-based CME Group (NASDAQ: CME), one of the world’s paramount Exchange operators, recorded an all-time record high volume yesterday across its total open interest, supplanting a previous high set two months earlier, according to a CME statement.

On March 9, Thursday, CME Group reported a total open interest record of 123.0 million contracts, its third ever figure above 120 million in a day. This also overtook an earlier record of 122.7 million contracts set back on December 15^th, 2016.

Wall Street saw uptick in volumes this week as market participants digested a speech from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen which heightened expectations that the US central bank would raise interest rates in 14-15 March’s meeting. While markets have largely priced in the move, the swell in volumes ahead of the event are nothing new, with the consensus being another rate hike.

CME Group is the largest regulated FX marketplace in the world and offers clients a suite of over 90 futures and more than 30 options contracts. In February 2017, the exchanges operator disclosed an average of 18.4 million contracts per day, which correlated to a rise of 15.0 percent month-over-month. This was the second straight month the group has reported rising volumes, despite markets lacking any major drivers in February.