(Adds ICE data.)
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
CME Group Inc. (CME) and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE)
said their daily trading volume rose in December, continuing a
trend of growth.
Exchange operators have seen traders return to their markets of
late as the financial crisis has receded further into the past.
In December, CME's daily volume rose 15% to an average of 10.5
million contracts, with 83% of the month's total of 232 million
being traded electronically. Last month's level was down from
November's 14.2 million, the highest since May's "flash crash." For
the quarter, growth was 17% on year, to 12 million contracts
daily.
The world's biggest futures exchange operator said interest-rate
futures--its biggest product by contract volume--saw volume surge
29% from a year earlier in December to 5 million contracts a
day.
Energy and metals contract volume each dipped 1% while
equity-index volume dropped 4%. But foreign-exchange contracts
volume increased 10% and commodities volume was up 37%.
In October, CME said its third-quarter profit rose 21%, helped
by robust trade in derivatives contracts linked to commodities,
interest rates and indexes.
IntercontinentalExchange said Tuesday its daily average volume
rose 13% to 1.1 million contracts last month from a year earlier,
but the figure dropped 19% from November. Its biggest product,
Brent crude futures and options, saw volume climb 23%. For the
fourth quarter, volume jumped 21% to 1.3 million contracts
daily.
Shares of CME closed Monday at $316.44 while
IntercontinentalExchange finished at $119.15. Neither was active
premarket.
-By Matt Jarzemsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240;
matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com