OCC Sees Cleared Contract Volumes Tick Lower in September 2015

The Option Clearing Corporation (OCC), one of the largest equity derivatives clearing organizations in the world, has reported its cleared contract volumes in September 2015, according to an OCC statement.

September 2015 saw a total of 361,537,608 cleared contracts, down by -2.6% YoY from 371,034,038 contracts in September 2014. Moreover, OCC's year-to-date (YTD) average daily cleared contract volume dropped marginally by -0.17% YoY from September 2014 with 16,855,238 contracts in 2015.

Asset Class Analysis

The OCC’s 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-listed options volume in September 2015 reached 354,782,668 contracts, down -3.0% YoY from September 2014 volume of 365,917,341 contracts. YTD average daily options (ADV) volume was also lower by 0.17% YoY from 2014 with 16,592,220 contracts in 2015.

Equity options volume in September 2015 came in at 311,951,747 contracts, incurring a decline of -6.0% YoY from September 2014 – however, index options volume in September 2015 was up 33.0% from September 2014 with 42,830,921 contracts.

In terms of futures, OCC cleared futures volume in September 2015 reached 6,754,940 contracts, a 32.0% YoY increase from the September 2014’s volume of 5,116,697 contracts. OCC's YTD ADV cleared futures volume was also down 0.25% YoY from 2014 with 263,018 contracts in 2015.

According to Scot Warren, OCC Executive Vice President of Business Development and The Options Industry Council, in a recent statement on the volumes, “With lower levels of 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, options trading volume decreased in September vs. August, which is consistent with lower volumes in the underlying securities markets and index futures. While options were lower versus the prior year, the industry reception and support for our stock loan program provides new opportunities for OCC to serve the industry."