Global Futures and Options Volume Hits Record

• Surge in options trading on Indian exchanges main contributor to global increase
• Interest rate futures and options volume rose 18% to 6.1 billion contracts
• Global futures and options open interest reaches record 1.25 billion contracts at end 2023
• Open interest in interest rate futures and options rises 42% to 212 million contracts at end 2023
• Double-digit increases in volume and open interest in most commodity markets

Trading volume in most parts of the world grew only slightly compared to the previous year. The exception was India, which saw an extraordinarily rapid growth in the trading of equity index options.
The number of equity index options traded on Indian exchanges reached 84.3 billion contracts in 2023, up 153% from 2022. That helped push the total number of options traded worldwide to 108.2 billion in 2023, up 98% from the previous year.

Total futures volume was 29.1 billion contracts, roughly the same as the previous year. Increases in futures trading in China and the U.K. offset declines in Brazil and Turkey.

Open interest, which measures the number of outstanding contracts at a point in time, stood at a record level of 1.25 billion contracts at year-end, up 15% at year-end 2022. Open interest in options rose 18% to 955 million contracts, and open interest in futures rose 8% to 298 million contracts.

FIA’s statistics on volume and open interest are collected from 89 exchanges and clearinghouses operated by 54 companies in 34 countries. The statistics are based on the number of contracts traded and/or cleared on these exchanges and clearinghouses and are adjusted to avoid double counting.

FIA will hold a webinar on 31 January to provide a more detailed look at the trends in futures and options trading.

For additional analysis, including breakdowns by region and asset class plus exchange rankings, read the full release here and download the summary Excel files.

Source: FIA