Following its strong performance during February in terms of trading volumes, US-based derivatives Exchange CME Group announced that it achieved record Open Interest last week in its global suite of FX products. The CME also posted record trading in its combined FX products of US$278 billion (FX futures = US$167 billion/FX Options US$111 billion equivalent to 2.4 million contracts) on March 7.
CME Group's FX futures are listed by and subject to the rules of CME. In addition, the company announced a record number of 915 Large Open Interest Holders in FX, which is a 15% increase year over year.
"The continued momentum and interest in our full suite of regulated FX products validates our central counter party Clearing model and the need to manage and offset risk in today's volatile currency markets," said Derek Sammann, CME Group, Senior Managing Director, Interest Rates and FX Products.
"As we see the regulatory environment continue to evolve, in particular with Basel III, the value proposition of exchange traded futures provides firms an alternative to efficiently manage capital and margin compared with the over the counter and Non Deliverable Forward markets. The next step to build on for our FX offering is being a significant part of the launch of CME Europe, our new derivatives exchange based in London, expected to launch later this year pending regulatory approval."
As the owner of the world's largest regulated FX marketplace, serving a diverse range of market participants that includes banks, hedge funds, CTAs, proprietary trading firms, multinational companies and active individual traders, CME Group offers a full product suite of 60 futures and 31 options contracts reflecting an average daily notional value of US$125 billion in 2013. In addition, the company provides OTC clearing services for 12 OTC Non-Deliverable Forward currency pairs, as well as 26 Cash Settled Forwards.
