CME Group, which operates one of the largest derivatives exchanges in the United States, stated that it hit a record of 396,421 SOFR futures contracts traded on October 18. According to the press release, it surpassed the previous milestone of 341,922 contracts that was set on June 18, 2021.

“As the market continues to manage their interest rate risk ahead of key transition deadlines, clients are increasingly adopting SOFR futures. Average daily volumes in SOFR futures have grown 171 percent versus 2020, and we are pleased to see new milestones this week with records in both volume traded and open interest,” Agha Mirza, CME Group's Global Head of Rates and OTC Products, commented.

As for open interest in SOFR futures, it reached 1,166,016 contracts on October 19, 2021, which is up 170 percent and growing 16 percent in one month after exceeding one million contracts of open interest on September 15, 2021. Moreover, SOFR futures averaged more than 212,000 contracts per day compared to the 137,000 contracts on average per day hit in September.

CME Group September Metrics

In September, CME Group reported a 3 percent decline in average daily volume of  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 trading market by volume. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) latest survey, the Forex market now turns over in excess of $5 trillion every day, with the most exchanges occurring between the US Dollar and the Euro (EUR/USD), followed by the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), then the US Dollar and Pound Sterling (GBP/USD). Ultimately, it is the very exchanging between currencies which causes a country’s currency to fluctuate in value in relation to another currency – this is known as the exchange rate. With regards to freely floating currencies, this is determined by supply and demand, such as imports and exports, and currency traders, such as banks and hedge funds. Emphasis on Retail Trading for ForexTrading the forex market for the purpose of financial gain was once the exclusive realm of financial institutions.But thanks to the invention of the internet and advances in financial technology from the 1990’s, almost anyone can now start trading this huge market. All one needs is a computer, an internet connection, and an account with a forex broker. Of course, before one starts to trade currencies, a certain level of knowledge and practice is essential. Once can gain some practice using demonstration accounts, i.e. place trades using demo money, before moving on to some real trading after attaining confidence. The main two fields of trading are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis refers to using mathematical tools and certain patterns to help decide whether to buy or sell a currency pair, and fundamental analysis refers to gauging the national and international events which may potentially affect a country’s currency value. 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 trading market by volume. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) latest survey, the Forex market now turns over in excess of $5 trillion every day, with the most exchanges occurring between the US Dollar and the Euro (EUR/USD), followed by the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), then the US Dollar and Pound Sterling (GBP/USD). Ultimately, it is the very exchanging between currencies which causes a country’s currency to fluctuate in value in relation to another currency – this is known as the exchange rate. With regards to freely floating currencies, this is determined by supply and demand, such as imports and exports, and currency traders, such as banks and hedge funds. Emphasis on Retail Trading for ForexTrading the forex market for the purpose of financial gain was once the exclusive realm of financial institutions.But thanks to the invention of the internet and advances in financial technology from the 1990’s, almost anyone can now start trading this huge market. All one needs is a computer, an internet connection, and an account with a forex broker. Of course, before one starts to trade currencies, a certain level of knowledge and practice is essential. Once can gain some practice using demonstration accounts, i.e. place trades using demo money, before moving on to some real trading after attaining confidence. The main two fields of trading are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis refers to using mathematical tools and certain patterns to help decide whether to buy or sell a currency pair, and fundamental analysis refers to gauging the national and international events which may potentially affect a country’s currency value. Read this Term derivatives, while overall ADV increased by 11 percent. As a result, FX trading demand rose 56 percent on a monthly basis. Further, we saw the highest ADV since the beginning of this year. As of today, the average daily volume of FX trades for the month totaled 975,000 contracts compared to 1 million contracts in the same month last year. Along with FX, demand for equities, agriculture and metal derivatives took a dive in the month and over the quarter. However, the overall ADV was dragged higher by a surge in the interest rate and energy products.

CME offers  Forex Trading  Forex Trading Forex trading is the buying and selling of foreign currencies with the aim of generating a profit. The value of currencies, especially floating currencies, fluctuate to varying degrees. This constant volatility of exchange rates opens the door for speculators to invest in a certain currency against another. The Forex market is the world’s biggest and most liquid market, with over $5 billion turnover every single day, with the market being open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.It goes without saying that forex trading is a very attractive market for not only banks and hedge funds, but even for the small individual trader, due to the low barriers for entry. One literally only needs a computer with an internet connection, and some money deposited with a forex broker. As a simple example, if you were very confident that the Euro (EUR) was going to gain strength against the US Dollar (USD) in the mid to long term, then you may decide to buy (or go long on) EUR/USD. If the EUR/USD was trading at 1.1500 at the time of purchase, a €10000 investment would have cost you $11500. As time goes by, if the EUR/USD gets stronger, e.g. its exchange rate moves to 1.2000 over the course of a few months, and you decided to close your trade there and then, you would have netted $12000, i.e. a profit of $500. No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Forex Trading Whilst forex trading is easy to delve into, it’s notoriously difficult to master, especially for those without a financial background. A lot of time and effort is needed to practice trading on demo and eventually on real accounts. No doubt it takes dedication, discipline and patience, along with developing an edge to beat the market. That edge is gained by studying at least one of two fields, known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. The former involves looking at currency charts, seeking out certain patterns using tools and software known as price action and indicators to help determine which way a particular forex pair may meander.By extension, the latter involves focusing on the latest news reports and geopolitical situation of the countries involved. Forex trading is the buying and selling of foreign currencies with the aim of generating a profit. The value of currencies, especially floating currencies, fluctuate to varying degrees. This constant volatility of exchange rates opens the door for speculators to invest in a certain currency against another. The Forex market is the world’s biggest and most liquid market, with over $5 billion turnover every single day, with the market being open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.It goes without saying that forex trading is a very attractive market for not only banks and hedge funds, but even for the small individual trader, due to the low barriers for entry. One literally only needs a computer with an internet connection, and some money deposited with a forex broker. As a simple example, if you were very confident that the Euro (EUR) was going to gain strength against the US Dollar (USD) in the mid to long term, then you may decide to buy (or go long on) EUR/USD. If the EUR/USD was trading at 1.1500 at the time of purchase, a €10000 investment would have cost you $11500. As time goes by, if the EUR/USD gets stronger, e.g. its exchange rate moves to 1.2000 over the course of a few months, and you decided to close your trade there and then, you would have netted $12000, i.e. a profit of $500. No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Forex Trading Whilst forex trading is easy to delve into, it’s notoriously difficult to master, especially for those without a financial background. A lot of time and effort is needed to practice trading on demo and eventually on real accounts. No doubt it takes dedication, discipline and patience, along with developing an edge to beat the market. That edge is gained by studying at least one of two fields, known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. The former involves looking at currency charts, seeking out certain patterns using tools and software known as price action and indicators to help determine which way a particular forex pair may meander.By extension, the latter involves focusing on the latest news reports and geopolitical situation of the countries involved. Read this Term services on its CME Globex platform, and most of the trading happens on the dedicated electronic platform.