Derivatives marketplace CME Group has announced that it has reached an important milestone, as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has given it the all clear to offer Over-the-Counter (OTC) forex clearing services.

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Following clearance, the firm will offer cash-settled OTC forex options in seven currency pairs, including EUR/USD, AUD/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, EUR/GBP, and USD/JPY. It will offer trades with an expiration time of up to two years.

Paul Houston, the Global Head of Forex Products at CME Group, commented that this is a significant step forward for the company: “In addition to our cleared NDFs and cash settled forwards, which are already live for clearing, we will work toward launching G7 FX Options later this year so that clients will have a holistic FX clearing solution that offers unparalleled portfolio margining opportunities between cleared FX products and our exchange listed FX futures and options.”

Recently, the company reached a new high in open interest, recording 129 million contracts on June 14, 2017. This was attributed to the Federal Reserve’s raising of interest rates. CME Group saw another high earlier this year when the United States Central Bank announced its decision to start cutting off bonds and other securities. This decision had been attributed to the bank’s confidence in the United States economy and the strengthening job market.

At the beginning of the June, CME released the results of its aggregated volumes of May 2017. The firm’s most recent figures showed a slight increase in average daily trading volumes.