CHICAGO, April 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced that first-quarter 2016 volume averaged a record 16.9 million contracts per day, up 13 percent from first-quarter 2015.  CME Group first-quarter 2016 options volume averaged a record 3.5 million contracts per day, up 22 percent versus first-quarter 2015, with electronic options averaging 1.8 million contracts per day, up 26 percent over the same period last year.  March 2016 volume averaged 14.3 million contracts per day, up 4 percent from March 2015.  Open interest at the end of March was 106 million contracts, up 16 percent from year-end 2015.

Interest rate volume averaged 8.2 million contracts per day in first-quarter 2016, up 9 percent from first-quarter 2015, and 6.4 million contracts per day in March 2016, down 1 percent over the same period last year.  Highlights include:

• Reached record quarterly Interest Rate options average daily volume of 2.1 million contracts
• Grew participation in recently launched Ultra 10-Year U.S. Treasury Note futures and options contracts, reaching an average daily volume of more than 45,000 contracts and open interest of above 105,000 contracts in March
• Reached record electronic trading levels for Treasury options and Eurodollar options in March, at 71 percent and 25 percent, respectively

Equity index volume averaged 3.6 million contracts per day in first-quarter 2016, up 28 percent from first-quarter 2015, and in March 2016 averaged 3.1 million contracts per day, up 10 percent from March 2015.  Highlights include:

• First-quarter 2016 Equity options average daily volume grew 20 percent compared with first-quarter 2015
• Reached quarterly record in Nikkei 225 Yen stock futures and options

Foreign exchange volume averaged 944,000 contracts per day in first-quarter 2016, down 1 percent from first-quarter 2015, and 912,000 contracts per day in March 2016, down 16 percent from the same period a year ago.  Highlights include:

• Achieved FX futures and options daily volume record of more than 2.5 million contracts on March 10, 2016
• Set quarterly average daily volume records for futures and options across Mexican Peso, Brazilian Real and E-micro FX contracts

Energy volume averaged a record 2.5 million contracts per day in first-quarter 2016, up 18 percent from first-quarter 2015, and 2.3 million contracts per day in March 2016, up 24 percent from March 2015.  Highlights include:

• Achieved record quarterly WTI futures average daily volume of 1.2 million contracts, and record quarterly WTI options average daily volume of 224,000 contracts
• Set record quarterly Gasoline futures and options average daily volume of 185,000 contracts

Agricultural volume averaged 1.2 million contracts per day in first-quarter 2016, up 1 percent from first-quarter 2015, and averaged 1.1 million contracts per day in March 2016, up 2 percent from the prior-year period.  Highlights include:

• Achieved Corn futures daily trading volume record of more than 930,000 on March 31, 2016
• Set both quarterly and monthly average daily volume records for Crude Palm Oil (CPO) swap volume

Metals volume averaged 454,000 contracts per day in first-quarter 2016, up 23 percent from first-quarter 2015, and 467,000 contracts per day in March 2016, up 28 percent from the same period a year ago.  Highlights include:

• Second highest quarterly average daily volume for Gold futures and options contracts of 284,000 contracts
• Set quarterly average daily volume record for Aluminum futures and options

Footnote:  To see CME Group daily over-the-counter (OTC) notional cleared volumes and open interest, monthly OTC notional cleared volumes and monthly total trade count, go to http://www.cmegroup.com/education/cme-volume-oi-records.html

ROLLING THREE-MONTH AVERAGES

As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage risk. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. Around the world, CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its CME Globex® electronic trading platform and its exchanges based in Chicago, New York and London. CME Group also operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers through CME Clearing and CME Clearing Europe, which offer clearing and settlement services across asset classes for exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives. CME Group's products and services ensure that businesses around the world can effectively manage risk and achieve growth.

CME Group is a trademark of CME Group Inc. The Globe Logo, CME, Globex and Chicago Mercantile Exchange are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT,  the Chicago Board of Trade, KCBOT, KCBT and Kansas City Board of Trade are trademarks of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are registered trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Further information about CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) and its products can be found at www.cmegroup.com.

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SOURCE CME Group