The Futures Industry Association today released a report on trading volume in the global listed derivatives markets. The report, which measures volume based on the number of contracts traded on derivatives exchanges, indicates that 22.3 billion futures and options contracts changed hands during 2010, an increase of 25.6% compared to 2009.
For the first time ever, Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share of global volume traded during 2010. Total volume on the derivatives exchanges in that region of the world reached 8.86 billion contracts in 2010, an increase of 42.8% from the previous year. Exchanges in South Korea, China and India accounted for the majority of the volume in this region. North America, which had the largest share in 2009, came in second with 7.17 billion contracts traded in 2010, up 12.8% from the previous year.
The Korea Exchange was once again the world’s largest exchange by volume, due mainly to the continuing popularity of its Kospi 200 stock index options. The exchange’s total volume in 2010 was 3.75 billion contracts, up 20.8% from the previous year. Coming in second was CME Group, which includes the Chicago Board of Trade and the New York Mercantile Exchange. CME’s total volume in 2010 rose 19.0% to 3.08 billion contracts. Eurex, which includes the International Securities Exchange, was third with 2.64 billion contracts. NYSE Euronext, which includes the Liffe derivatives markets in Europe and the U.S. as well as the Arca and Amex options markets in the U.S., was fourth with 2.15 billion contracts, and the National Stock Exchange of India was fifth with 1.62 billion contracts.
The 2010 volume report, which will be published in the March issue of Futures Industry, the FIA’s magazine, shows that the industry-wide rate of growth has returned to the levels seen before the severe turmoil in fixed income markets in 2008 and 2009. Worldwide volume in 2009 inched up 0.4% from the previous year, mainly because a sharp decline in the volume of fixed income futures in the U.S. and Europe offset continuing growth in other sectors of the markets. Looking back farther in time, the rate of growth was 13.9% in 2008, 30.8% in 2007, and 19.0% in 2006.
Foreign exchange was the fastest growing sector in 2010. Trading in futures and options based on currencies rose 142% to 2.40 billion contracts. This was partly due to a very rapid increase in the trading of retail-sized currency futures on exchanges in India. Equity index futures and options was the largest sector, with volume up 16.2% to 7.41 billion contracts.
This year’s report includes data covering 78 exchanges in 36 countries. In several cases, the FIA consolidates the data from affiliated exchanges. The FIA statistics may not include all of the exchanges currently offering derivatives. The data are provided voluntarily by exchanges and are subject to revision by the exchanges. Volume data reported in previous years therefore may not match data in the current report.
For more information, please contact Will Acworth at wacworth@futuresindustry.org or +1 202 772 3034.
