The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) reported Thursday a record trading volume of 1,874,588 contracts in its benchmark CME E-mini S&P 500 futures contract, adding more than 200,000 contracts to the previous record of 1,603,008 set on Oct. 6, 2005. The new record exceeds the 1.4 million daily average volume achieved by all CME E-mini equity index products during the first quarter of 2006.
Two equity options on futures contracts achieved record volume as well, with CME E-mini Russell 2000 options hitting 9.292 contracts and CME S&P 500 options hitting 149,378 contracts. The prior record for CME E-mini Russell 2000 options, set on May 15, 2006, was 8,593 contracts, and CME S&P 500 options had previously only topped out at 112,189 contracts on Oct. 6, 2005. The CME E-mini MSCI EAFE futures contract had its strongest volume day since its March 19, 2006, launch.
CME also set records for several FX volume levels, including an electronic FX volume record of 695,927 futures and options on future contracts. The new record represents $90 billion in notional value. The previous record for futures and options contracts traded was 631,168 set on Dec. 12, 2005.
CME EuorFX contracts composed nearly have of Thursdays electronic volume, with a record-setting 398,232 contracts traded electronically for a notional value of $49.4 billion. This notional value approaches the approximated notional value CMEs entire FX product group in April 2006.
CMEs British Pound, contracts such as CME Global(R), also received record volume, with 92,951 contracts traded.
CME saw an overall volume of 7.72 million contracts Wednesday, placing the day as the exchanges fifth highest all time volume day.