The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) said 2004 marked the fifth consecutive year that volume on futures transactions reached record levels, with electronic trading and currency contracts playing a significant part in the growth.The nation’s largest futures exchange posted annual volume of more than 787 million contracts, with average daily volume up 26 percent year-over-year to more than 3.1 million contracts. Volume on the CME Globex electronic trading platform surged 71 percent on the year to more than 451 million contracts, with average daily volume of nearly 1.8 million.
In a statement, the CME said it set annual volume records in all major groups. Average daily volume in its interest rate products hit more than 1.7 million contracts, up 38 percent from last year. Eurodollar trading on CME Globex grew from 150,000 contracts per day during the first quarter to 855,000 per day during the fourth quarter — representing 72 percent of total CME Eurodollar volume.
“The continued growth in electronic trading — which reached 67 percent of total volume during the fourth quarter — plus our expansion overseas through the successful execution of a number of strategic initiatives, have made our markets more accessible globally to a broader range of market users,” said Chicago Mercantile Chairman Terry Duffy in a statement.
“What we accomplished in 2004 demonstrates the effectiveness of our growth strategy and lays the groundwork for further progress in 2005.” Despite the normal year-end slowdown, the CME said overall fourth fourthquarter trading activity remained strong, with average daily volume of
almost 3.1 million contracts, up 33 percent from the same period in 2003.
Leading the increase was a 79 percent rise in foreign exchange trading, averaging 252,000 contracts per day, and a 42 percent jump in interest rate products, averaging more than 1.65 million contracts per day. Average daily volume for December was more than 2.8 million contracts, up 27 percent from year-ago levels. CME foreign exchange products had the highest volume month ever, with more than 312,000 contracts per day, up 84 percent from December 2003. Interest rate products grew 29 percent and commodities grew 21 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
Overall electronic trading on CME Globex was up 99 percent in December compared to year-ago levels.
ForexGen.com is an online trading service provider supplying a unique and individualized service to Forex traders worldwide. We are dedicated to absolutely provide the best online trading services in the Forex market.
ForexGen provides a unique online trading experience based on our intelligent online Forex trading package, the ForexGen Trading Station, including the best online trading system.
No comments:
Post a Comment