CHICAGO, IL (December 3, 2012) – The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that 335,527,473 contracts were traded in November, which is off 2.57 percent compared to last November when 344,377,310 contracts were traded.

November trading helped improve the volume picture for 2012 as year-to-date trading volume came in at 3,691,342,837contracts, 12.99 percent less than the 4,242,423,240 contracts traded through last November. By comparison, year-to-date trading volume was down 13.91 percent at the end of October. Average daily trading volume for November came in at 15,977,499 contracts, 2.57 percent less than the 16,398,919 contracts traded on average each day last November.

Equity options volume (options on individual stocks and ETFs) in November was 304,256,176 contracts, down 4.17 percent compared to the previous November when 317,497,138 contracts were traded. On average, 14,488,389 equity options contracts changed hands each day in November, which is 4.17 percent less than the daily average of 15,118,911 contracts from November 2011. Equity options traded so far this year stood at 3,396,328,378 contracts, down 13.49 percent compared to the 3,925,903,025 contracts traded in the same period last year.

About OIC
OIC is an industry cooperative funded by BATS Options, BOX Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, C2 Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NASDAQ OMX PHLX, NASDAQ Options Market, NYSE Amex Options, NYSE Arca Options and OCC. OIC was formed in 1992 to educate investors and their financial advisors about the benefits and risks of exchange-traded equity options. OIC’s resources include: Investor Services live help at 1-888-OPTIONS, its educational website at www.OptionsEducation.org, live seminars throughout the continental United States and Canada, and educational literature.

Media Contacts:

Jim Binder
312-322-9853
jbinder@theocc.com

Angela Kotso
312-322-6267
akotso@theocc.com