FX Trading Strong at CME During February – Options Shine

The CME Group posted a solid month of trading during February, as month over month volume grew 11.2% and 3.9% from the same period last year. Powering the growth during the shortened February month were Interest Rate and Equity Index products which both experienced slightly more than 15% increases from January.

In its FX division, the unit continued to see an increase in momentum following strong December and January reports. During February, 18,782,147 FX contracts were traded which was 6.1% increase from January and 15.8% more than the same period last year. The big growth in FX was seen in options, as total February volume was 23.2% higher than from January and a 98.8% increase from February 2012. When taking into account the shortened month and combining both options and futures volumes, FX trading average daily volume (ADV) grew 26% from the same period in 2012. FX were boosted by record ADV in yen options and futures contracts. In dollar figures, the ADV was $125 billion, with was the venue's highest mark since September 2011.

As shown below, the 20.5% month over month increase in yen futures trading led all currencies, with strong results also being seen in the euro, peso, and pound. Of interest was the underperformance of the commodity currency Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian dollar’s. While the currencies saw ADV increases, their overall market share declined as interest rate speculating has been subsiding in favor of directional trading.

During the month, the CME launched deliverable renminbi futures (USDCNH).