CME POSTS RECORD TRADING VOLUME IN FIRST QUARTER
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)
traded a record 19,656,498 contracts in the first quarter of
1987, up 17 pct from 16,768,145 in the same quarter last year.
    The previous record for quarterly volume total was
established in the third quarter of 1986, when 18,106,452
futures and options were traded at the CME.
    The record volume for January through March of 1987
included 16.7 mln futures contracts -- up 12 pct compared to
14,918,036 in the 1986 quarter -- and three mln options
contracts, up 61 pct over 1,850,109 in the 1986 quarter.
    Total trading volume for March reached 6,750,431 contracts,
up from 5,522,932 in March 1986 for a 22 pct increase and the
highest March total ever. Trading in options on futures in
March exceeded previous records, with 1,015,327 contracts
traded compared to 586,471 in March 1986. The previous record
was established in January with 990,010 options contracts
traded.
    March volume included a record 2,247,513 currency futures
and options contracts, compared to 2,040,642 a year ago. The
previous single-month high of 2,216,682 currency futures and
options traded was in September 1986.
    In currency futures, Canadian dollar futures soared to a
record 147,010 contracts traded in March, up 83.2 pct over the
80,256 contracts traded in March 1986. West German mark
futures, however, slipped 15.8 pct in March with 561,830
contracts traded compared to 667,041 traded in March 1986.
    Among interest rate futures, Eurodollar futures contracts
increased 90.6 pct to 1,196,731 compared to 627,895 in March
1986.
    The Standard and Poor's 500, the second most actively
traded futures contract anywhere, traded 1,780,538 contracts in
March, up 4.9 pct from 1,696,912 in March 1986.
    Major gains in agricultural futures were posted in March by
live hog contracts, up 52 pct to 172,710 contracts from 113,660
a year ago. Live cattle contracts reached 474,156 in March, up
16.2 pct from 408,170 a year ago.
    Trading in options on futures also was up strongly.
Agricultural options on futures soared 142.7 pct in March to
123,643 contracts, up from 50,938 a year ago. Currency options
were up 69.2 pct to 469,695 contracts from 277,627 a year ago.
Interest rate options climbed 81.3 pct to 217,127 from 119,738
a year ago. And equity options rose 48.3 pct to 204,862
contracts from 138,168 a year ago.
    In addition, March trading included two single-day volume
records: British pound futures traded 35,960 contracts March 9
compared to 33,269 February 19, and Canadian dollar futures
traded 20,905 contracts March 11 compared to the previous
record of 12,456 set May 12, 1982.
 Reuter
