Trading volume at the international derivatives exchange Eurex reached 126.2 million contracts, compared with 175.1 million in August 2007 and 107 million in August 2006. The decrease of 28 percent in comparison with August 2007 is due to the start of the US credit crisis, which resulted in high volumes in August 2007. The average daily trading volume was 6 million contracts. Altogether, the first 8 months of this year saw a volume of 1.45 billion contracts, an increase of 11 percent.
The equity index derivatives segment recorded highest turnover, totaling 62 million contracts (August 2007: 79.3 million, August 2006: 35.1 million). Thereof, 23.1 million contracts were traded of the Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50® index future and another 25.7 million contracts of the Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50 index option. The DAX® index future and option saw a combined volume of 11 million contracts. Trading volume in equity derivatives (equity options and single stock futures) accounted for 25.2 million contracts compared with 28.2 million in August 2007 and 21.9 million in August 2006.
The fixed income derivatives segment reached 38.8 million contracts (August 2007: 67.6 million, August 2006: 50 million). The Euro-Bund Future totaled 15 million contracts, the Euro-Bobl Future 9.9 million contracts and the Euro-Schatz Future 9.5 million contracts.
Among the recently launched products, the future on the MSCI Russia saw a volume of more than 6,300 contracts and the future on the dividends of the DJ Euro STOXX 50 more than 5,600 contracts.
At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), which has been a subsidiary of Eurex since the end of December 2007, US options reached an average daily trading volume of 3.5 million contracts (August 2007: 3.6 million). In total, average daily trading volume increased by 33.5 percent to 4 million options contracts in the first eight months of 2008.
Eurex Repo, which operates CHF- and EUR repo markets, set a new record volume in August 2008: The secured money market segment, Euro GC Pooling, recorded outstanding volumes of €42.4 bn, daily outstanding volume peaked at €46.5 bn. All Eurex repo markets grew by 38 percent and had an average outstanding volume of €131.4 bn. in August (August 2007: €95.1 bn.).
The electronic trading platform Eurex Bonds, which rounds out Eurex’s fixed-income product range, traded volumes of €6.3 bn. (single counting) in August; in August 2007 it was €13.6 bn.
