Equity and FX Products Shine at the CME Group During June

The CME Group has released total contract volume figures for June. During the month, total futures and options contract volume reached 338,041,611, a 22.4% YoY increase, and 4.6% higher than May. Powering the YoY figures was a 61.6% increase in Interest Rate product volumes. On a monthly basis, volume gains were led by a 24.9% increase in Equity Index trading while total FX option and futures figures were 7.0% higher during June. The Equity Index activity occurred even as global stock indexes moved lower in June, cooling the rally that had taken place to start the year. Despite the fall in stock prices, 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 increased which triggered volume gains. In contrast, precious metals volume fell 11.0% from May. The decline in activity occurred even as prices fell in the volatile market. As such, it appears that systematic traders are moving away from metals as the product has traded out of historical correlations with other asset classes. In FX, MoM growth was paced by higher futures contracts growth. During June, futures contract trading increased 7.9% from May, while options volumes fell 6.5%. The drop in options trading stalls what had been until now one of the most active products at the CME Group during 2013. On a dollar basis, average daily volumes during June amounted to $146 billion, which put it ahead of Thomson Reuter's May figures which topped public venues during that month (Thomson and EBS have yet to report June figures). In individual currencies, Japanese yen trading continues to experience volume gains in 2013 due to increase volatility. As a result, yen futures activity increased 164% from the same period last year, with the contract closing its gap with the Euro as the most heavily traded FX product. Also, as seen yesterday from the Tokyo Financial Exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term, activity is again rising in the Australian dollar which was the third most traded currency on the CME.