Press

The international derivatives exchange Eurex reported today that in May 2008 trading volumes reached 194.6 million contracts (May 2007: 156.3 million), an increase of 24.5 percent year-on-year. Average daily trading volume at Eurex was 9.3 million contracts (May 2007: 7.1 million). Total trading volumes on Eurex in the first five months reached 948.4 million contracts, up more than 22 percent year-on-year. Open interest increased to almost 148 million contracts. Equity derivatives (equity options and single stock futures) benefited from the dividend season and saw the strongest growth y-o-y. Trading volumes almost doubled to 87.9 million contracts (May 2007: 45.9 million). Equity options totaled 40.4 million contracts and single stock futures grew to 47.5 million contracts.

In the equity index derivatives segment, 59.3 million contracts were traded (May 2007: 51.9 million). The future on the Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50® reached 20.2 million contracts, and options on the Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50 grew by 44 percent y-o-y and totaled 27.2 million contracts. Futures on DJ STOXX sector indices benefited from rising demand and for the first time surpassed 200,000 contracts in a single month.

The fixed income derivatives segment reached 47.3 million contracts (May 2007: 58.4 million). The Euro-Bund Future remained the most heavily traded product of this segment with 19.1 million contracts. 12.7 million contracts were traded in the Euro-Schatz Future, as well as roughly 10.9 million contracts in the Euro-Bobl Future.

At International Securities Exchange (ISE), which has been part of Eurex since the end of December 2007, US options reached a daily average trading volume of 3.6 million contracts (May 2007: 3 million, up 19 percent). In total, volume increased by almost 14 percent to 75 million contracts (May 2007: 66 million).

Eurex Repo, which operates CHF- and EUR repo markets, set new records in May 2008: all Eurex repo markets had an average outstanding volume of €128.1 bn. (May 2007: €92.3 bn.). The Euro-Repo market hit a new record of €71.5 bn. Its secured money market segment, Euro GC Pooling, rose by 220 percent to an average outstanding volume of €37.8 bn. (May 2007: €11.8 bn.).

The electronic trading platform Eurex Bonds, which rounds out Eurex’s fixed-income product range, traded volume of € 7.1 bn. (single counting) in May, trailing the April 2008 figure of €7.4 bn. (May 2007: €12.9 bn.).