UPDATE: June Rate Futures Trade Vaults CME Group Over Eurex
July 02 2009 - 11:44AM
Dow Jones News
CME Group Inc. (CME) reclaimed its spot as the world's largest
derivatives exchange last month, reporting trading volume Thursday
that topped that of rival Eurex.
Activity in CME's core interest-rate-futures products rose 8%
from May to June as investors saw signs of improvement in the
economic climate, fueling the busiest trading day this year for the
Chicago-based exchange operator.
But overall volume remained well below year-ago levels at both
CME and Eurex, and CME also saw its average rate per contract
decline for the fourth consecutive month.
A total of 251 million contracts changed hands in June on CME's
markets, which include the Nymex energy platform.
Eurex, which reported June data on Wednesday, traded 232.5
million contracts, including the contribution from the
International Securities Exchange options platform.
Total volume remains 17% lower year-on-year at Eurex, co-owned
by Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE) and SWX Swiss Exchange, and 20%
lower for CME.
CME shares were 1.6% lower in early trade at $303.49, while
Deutsche Boerse shares were also down at 52.01 euros.
CME on Thursday also reported another drop in its average rate
per contract, which fell to $0.812 for the three-month period ended
in May.
Its average fees have fallen nearly 6 cents since January, when
the exchange operator suffered its first rate-per-contract, or RPC,
decline in more than a year.
CME collects the majority of its fees from interest-rate
futures, but that activity has sagged as the Federal Reserve
lowered its benchmark rate to near zero.
Equity-index products, which carry a higher rate per contract,
have seen increased activity, thanks to stock-market volatility,
but not enough to make up the difference.
Interest-rate trading fell 24% from year-ago levels in June, but
posted its best 2009 performance, averaging 5.1 million contracts
per day.
On June 5, CME reported its busiest day ever in eurodollar
futures, as a little more than six million contracts changed hands
after the release of a surprising monthly employment report.
But average daily volume for Treasury futures and options was
35% below June 2008 totals, while eurodollar futures sustained a
16% drop. The daily volume average for federal-funds products fell
49%.
Rate-futures trading activity at Eurex was nearly one-third
lower than year-ago levels, though June volume rose about 30% from
May.
Equity-index derivatives far outpaced Eurex's other product
groups, with 71.1 million contracts traded last month, though
levels remained 17% below June 2008. At CME, volume in
equity-focused products was about 21% lower year-on-year.
Atlanta-based IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) reported a
record average daily volume of 1.1 million contracts in June, a 14%
year-on-year increase as energy traders hedged against shifts in
the price of crude oil.
Nymex, which trades the benchmark West Texas Intermediate
crude-oil contract, reported overall volume down 4% from year-ago
levels, with its ClearPort over-the-counter platform registering a
33% bump in activity.
ICE also reported that its ICE Trust credit derivatives platform
had cleared $1.3 trillion in notional contract value since its
March launch.
Shares in ICE were slightly higher in midmorning trade, at
$111.91.
-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4117;
jacob.bunge@dowjones.com
-By Howard Packowitz, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4132;
howard.packowitz@dowjones.com