CHICAGO, Jan. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the
world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today
announced record volume for its global benchmark Light Sweet Crude
Oil (WTI) futures and options contracts. On Friday, January 28, WTI futures reached a record
of 1,472,088 contracts, surpassing the previous record of 1,423,536
contracts set on April 13, 2010. WTI
daily options volume also reached a record of 290,365 contracts,
surpassing the prior record of 282,860 contracts set on
September 16, 2008.
"WTI continues to be the most liquid and most transparent crude
oil benchmark in the global marketplace today," said Joe Raia, Managing Director, Energy & Metals
Products, CME Group. "These records are indicative of WTI's ability
to properly respond to changing world events and supply and demand
factors, while providing critical transparency to the world's
energy market."
So far in January, average daily volume (ADV) for WTI futures is
up 56 percent year-over-year to 891,646 contracts, while WTI
options ADV increased 16 percent to 158,359. Combined WTI futures
and options ADV grew 48 percent year-over-year to more than
1,050,005 contracts during the same timeframe.
CME Group Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures and options
contracts are listed by and subject to the rules of NYMEX.
As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace,
CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage
risk. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global
benchmark products across all major asset classes, including
futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes,
foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, weather
and real estate. CME Group brings buyers and sellers
together through its CME Globex electronic trading platform and its
trading facilities in New York and
Chicago. CME Group also operates CME Clearing, one of the
largest central counterparty clearing services in the world, which
provides clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded
contracts, as well as for over-the-counter derivatives transactions
through CME ClearPort. These products and services ensure
that businesses everywhere can substantially mitigate counterparty
credit risk in both listed and over-the-counter derivatives
markets.
The Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME Group,
Globex, E-mini and CME ClearPort are trademarks of Chicago
Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of the
Board of Trade of the City of Chicago. NYMEX and New York
Mercantile Exchange are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange,
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All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners. Further information about CME Group (Nasdaq: CME) and
its products can be found at www.cmegroup.com.
CME-G
SOURCE CME Group