The total notional amount of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives contracts outstanding was $592.0 trillion at the end of December 2008, 13.4% lower than six months earlier. The decline is the first since collection of the data began in 1998. Credit market turmoil and the multilateral netting of contracts led to a contraction of 26.9% in outstanding credit default swaps (CDS). The second half of 2008 also saw the first significant decline of OTC derivatives contracts outstanding in the interest rate market (8.6%) and in the foreign exchange market (21%).
Despite the drop in amounts outstanding, movements of financial market prices in the second half of 2008 lifted gross market values 66.5%, to $33.9 trillion. Gross market values measure the cost of replacing all existing contracts and are thus a better measure of market risk than notional amounts outstanding.
The statistical release cites the following trends in the second half of 2008:
* CDS volumes continued to contract
* Commodity derivatives markets declined by two thirds
* The market value of interest rate products almost doubled
Comprehensive explanatory notes in the release define the coverage of the statistics and the terms used in presenting them.
