Trading Volume in Vix Futures Rose to New Record in January

CHICAGO, Feb. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE^®) announced today that trading activity in futures on the CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX^®) set several new records in January 2013, including total monthly volume, total monthly average daily volume, single-day volume and open interest.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121022/MM97794LOGO-d)

The record 2,897,739 VIX futures contracts traded during January was an increase of 258 percent from the 808,784 contracts traded in January 2012 and a gain of 19 percent from the 2,435,648 contracts traded in December. The previous record for VIX futures monthly volume was 2,734,248 contracts traded during November 2012.

Average daily volume (ADV) in VIX futures during January was 137,988 contracts, also a new record, and up 241 percent and 13 percent, respectively, when compared with the 40,439 contracts a year ago and the 121,782 contracts the previous month.  The previous record for VIX futures monthly ADV was 130,202 contracts during November 2012.  VIX futures set consecutive single-day volume records on January 2, 2013 and December 31, 2012 with 221,323 contracts and 212,800 contracts traded, respectively, surpassing the previous high of 190,081 contracts on September 13, 2012.

During January, open interest in VIX futures reached a new high on four consecutive trading days, culminating on January 16 when open interest stood at a record 472,403 contracts.

Total trading volume at CFE during January was a record 2,927,613 contracts, up 261 percent from the January 2012 volume of 811,283 contracts and an increase of 20 percent above the 2,446,471 contracts traded during December. The previous record for total monthly volume at CFE was 2,744,177 contracts traded during November 2012.

Total exchange-wide ADV during January reached a new high of 139,410 contracts, a gain of 244 percent from January 2012 ADV of 40,564 contracts and up 14 percent from the ADV of 122,324 contracts in December.  The previous record for CFE total monthly ADV was 130,675 contracts during November 2012.  Consecutive CFE single-day volume records were set on January 2, 2013 and December 31, 2012 with 226,951 contracts and 212,984 contracts traded, respectively. These records surpassed the previous high of 191,228 contracts on September 13, 2012.  January was the first month in CFE history where daily volume exceeded 100,000 contracts each trading day.

On January 16, exchange-wide open interest stood at 501,559 contracts, a new all-time high, and the first time CFE open interest surpassed the 500,000-contract benchmark.

London Hub
CFE’s London Hub went live today and is now operational.  The Hub is a cross connection (telephone switch and communication lines) from the Equinix facility in England to the CBOE Command Center at the Equinix facility in New Jersey.  The Hub provides direct access to CFE’s trading system and market data and index data made available by Market Data Express.  For additional information on the London Hub, refer to CFE Regulatory Circular RG13-004 at http://cfe.cboe.com/publish/CFEregcirc/CFERG13-004.pdf.

About CBOE Futures Exchange:
CFE currently offers nine contracts: CBOE Volatility Index (The VIX Index) futures (VX), Mini-VIX futures (VM), S&P 500 Variance futures (VA), CBOE NASDAQ-100 Volatility Index (VXN) futures (VN), CBOE Gold ETF Volatility Index (GVZ) security futures (GV), CBOE Crude Oil ETF Volatility Index (OVX) security futures (OV), CBOE Emerging Markets ETF Volatility Index (VXEEM) security futures (VXEM), CBOE Brazil ETF Volatility Index (VXEWZ) security futures (VXEW) and Radar Logic 25-Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) RPX Composite Index futures (RPXCP).

CFE, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE), offers an all-electronic, open-access market model, with traders providing liquidity and making markets. CFE is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and all trades are cleared by the OCC.

More information on CFE and its products, including contract specifications, can be found at: http://cfe.cboe.com/.

­­­CBOE-EF

CBOE®, Chicago Board Options Exchange®, CFE®, CBOE Volatility Index® and VIX® are registered trademarks, and CBOE Futures Exchange^SM, CBOE Nasdaq-100 Volatility Index^SM, VXN^SM, VN^SM, CBOE Brazil ETF Volatility Index^SM, VXEW^SM, VXEWZ^SM, CBOE Crude Oil ETF Volatility Index^SM, OVX^SM, OV^SM, CBOE Emerging Markets ETF Volatility Index^SM, VXEM^SM, VXEEM^SM,  CBOE Gold ETF Volatility Index^SM, GVZ^SM, GV^SM, VM^SMand VX^SM are service marks of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (CBOE). Standard & Poor’s®, S&P® and S&P 500® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services, LLC, and have been licensed for use by CBOE and CFE. The Nasdaq-100 Index®, Nasdaq-100®, and Nasdaq® are trademark or service marks of The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (with which its affiliates are the “Corporations”). These marks are licensed for use by CBOE in connection with the trading of products based on the Nasdaq-100 Index. The products have not been passed on by the Corporations as to their legality or suitability. The products are not issued, endorsed, sold or promoted by the Corporations. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT(S). All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC