CME Daily Trading Volume Rises in November, ICE Also Up -- Update

(Adds data from ICE)

 
   By Everdeen Mason 
 

CME Group Inc.'s (CME) November daily trading volume rose as a significant increase in interest-rate and futures contract volumes offset a drop in equity index and metals volume, while rival exchange IntercontinentalExchange Group (ICE) reported a jump in futures and options contract volume.

Exchanges are seeing an increase in business this year from handling swap trades, which lawmakers in the U.S. and Europe targeted for stricter regulation after some privately traded derivatives markets, such as for credit default swaps, were blamed for deepening the 2008 financial crisis.

CME, parent company of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, said on average 12.1 million contracts were traded daily in November, up 9% from last year. A total of 241 million contracts were traded in November, with 87% traded electronically.

Interest-rate volume averaged six million contracts a day, up 32% from last November. CME runs the leading franchise in U.S. interest-rate futures and has long been seen as a natural place for traders to clear swap contracts linked to similar rates.

Equity index volume, however, dropped 18% to 2.2 million contracts per day.

Metals volume fell 9% to 379,000 contracts a day.

Eurodollar futures volume climbed 53% to an average of two million contracts a day, while Treasury futures volumes rose 16% to three million contracts a day.

Meanwhile, Eurodollar options averaged 484,000 contracts a day, up 56% from last year, and Treasury options rose 48% to 533,000 contracts a day.

ICE reported its daily volume for options and futures increased 5% to 3.37 million contracts year over year as its largest segment, oil, rose 13%. However, ICE's gains were offset by declines in natural gas, gasoil equity index.

ICE reported its ICE Brent futures and options volumes increased 17%; however, its ICE gasoil and ICE natural gas volumes each dropped 5%. ICE equity index futures and options volumes decreased 18%.

Write to Everdeen Mason at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires