The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME) recently published its market statistics for January 2023, reporting a 4% growth in its average daily volume (ADV) of foreign exchange transactions for the month. The increase reaches a total of 807,000 forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term contracts that were traded on the US-based derivatives marketplace in January.

Additionally, the volume of forex futures and options traded on the platform improved in January with total FX futures traded increasing by 5% year-over-year (YoY). Moreover, an average daily volume of 4.8 million options contracts were traded in the past month.

“CME Group FX Futures and Options volume in January continued the year-over-year growth trend from the prior year, with volumes supported by elevated volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders Read this Term and increased buyside customer adoption as exhibited by the growth in positions held by Asset Manager Large Open Interest Holders (LOIH),” Paul Houston, the Global Head of FX at CME Group, noted in a commentary shared with Finance Magnates.

Furthermore, Houston noted that the ADV of listed forex contracts jumped 4% YoY. In addition, the average open interest in CME Group's listed FX products increased slightly by 1% last month.

CME Group’s SOFR ADV Skyrockets

On January 12, a single-day volume of Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) futures and options contracts traded on the CME hit a record 7.56 million contracts with a record open interest rate of 35.7 million contracts on the same day. By month-end, CME Group said its SOFR ADV jumped by 499%.

Giving a breakdown of the volumes, CME Group noted that it posted a record monthly SOFR options ADV of 1.8 million contracts in January 2023. This came with a record open interest of approximately 34 million contracts by January 31st. Similarly, the marketplace saw its SOFR futures ADV skyrocket by 256% with a record open interest of 9.8 million contracts on January 31st.

Across the board, CME Group reported an ADV of 21.7 million contracts in January 2023. This represents a 13% increase from the 19.2 million contracts traded on the platform in December 2022.

Moreover, the Group posted a record 23.3 million contracts in 2022, which is a 19% increase from its output in 2022. This came as CME Group’s equity index, interest rate and forex ADVs shot up 39%, 18% and 24%, respectively in 2022. In addition, CME Group beats estimates by posting a fourth quarter and yearly revenue of $1.2 billion and $5 billion last year.