CME Group Posts Record Quarterly International Volumes

CME Group announced this Wednesday that it has achieved record international volumes for the first quarter of 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic boosts trading volumes for exchanges, brokers, and platforms.

During the first three months of 2020, the international average daily volume (ADV) was 7.2 million contracts. This represents an increase of 57 percent on a yearly comparison.

Equity trading led the way for CME Group

Q1's trading volume has also surpassed the previous quarterly record, which was 5.3 million contracts traded during the second quarter of last year. This figure represents all trading done outside of North America and was driven primarily by Equity and Interest Rate products, which jumped by 152 percent and 46 percent, respectively.

As Finance Magnates reported, according to data examined by Cappitech, trading providers that had a strong Equity offering managed to capitalize on the increased trading volumes the most effectively.

Record volumes by region

Taking a look at Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), the average daily volume reached a record 5.4 million contracts. When measuring this against the same period of the previous year, it has climbed by 54 percent.

This surge in trading was also driven by a strong performance in Equity and Interest Rate products in the region, CME Group said in its statement today. In fact, they were up by 139 percent and 46 percent respectively year-on-year.

For the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, the average daily volume managed to hit a record 1.6 million contracts, a 73 percent growth year-on-year. Again, this growth was led by a 195 percent growth in Equity products, followed by Metals and Interest Rate products.

The final region for the derivatives marketplace is Latin America, which had an ADV of 182,000 contracts in Q1 of 2020, which is higher by 21 percent from the corresponding period in 2019, led by a strong surge in Equity products.

Commenting on the results, William Knottenbelt, Senior Managing Director and Head of International, CME Group said in the statement: "In the first quarter of this year, we have seen unprecedented market conditions leading to increased 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 our record international volumes reflect a heightened need for Risk Management Risk Management One of the most common terms utilized by brokers, risk management refers to the practice of identifying potential risks in advance. Most commonly, this also involves the analysis of risk and the undertaking of precautionary steps to both mitigate and prevent for such risk.Such efforts are essential for brokers and venues in the finance industry, given the potential for fallout in the face of unforeseen events or crises. Given a more tightly regulated environment across nearly every asset class, One of the most common terms utilized by brokers, risk management refers to the practice of identifying potential risks in advance. Most commonly, this also involves the analysis of risk and the undertaking of precautionary steps to both mitigate and prevent for such risk.Such efforts are essential for brokers and venues in the finance industry, given the potential for fallout in the face of unforeseen events or crises. Given a more tightly regulated environment across nearly every asset class, Read this Term. We are committed to continuing to provide a robust, liquid and regulated marketplace for clients to manage their risk around the clock and around the world."