According to the statistics issued by CME Group the volume in 2008 totaled 3.3 billion contracts, representing the eighth consecutive year of record volume, assuming combined CME Group/NYMEX volumes, and $1.2 quadrillion in notional value. Daily volume in 2008 averaged 13.0 million contracts per day, up 4% from 2007 on a combined basis. Total electronic volume averaged 10.3 million contracts per day, up 12% from the prior year and representing 79% of total exchange volume.
Average daily volume cleared on NYMEX ClearPort was 468,000 contracts for 2008, up 39% compared with 2007, highlighting market participants’ increased interest in the safety and soundness of CME Group’s regulated, transparent and centrally cleared markets.
CME Group 2008 E-mini equity index volume averaged 3.5 million contracts per day, up 37% compared with 2007. Equity standard volume averaged 190,000 contracts per day, up two percent compared with the prior year. CME Group commodities and alternative investments volume averaged 848,000 contracts per day, up 11% from 2007.
CME Group foreign exchange (FX) contracts volume averaged 624,000 contracts per day, up 10%, and represented an average daily notional value of $85 billion. CME Group interest rate volume averaged 6.1 million contracts per day, down 12% compared with the same period in 2007.
Total NYMEX volume averaged 1.8 million contracts for 2008, up 19% compared with the prior year. Annual NYMEX energy futures and options volume averaged 1.0 million contracts per day, up 11% from 2007. COMEX metals volume averaged 221,000 contracts per day for 2008, up 40%. Average daily volume cleared on NYMEX ClearPort was 468,000 contracts for 2008, up 39% compared with 2007. The remaining NYMEX volume of 74,000 trades per day consisted of other transactions, which include position transfers and exchanges.
All the volume and rate per contract information in the text excludes non-traditional TRAKRS products, for which CME Group receives significantly lower clearing fees than other CME Group products, and Swapstream products.
Fourth-quarter daily volume averaged 10.4 million contracts, down 14% compared with the same period last year on a combined basis. Quarterly volume highlights included 35% growth in E-mini equity index products and 58% growth in average daily volume cleared on ClearPort. Daily volume averaged 8.2 million contracts in December, down 22% compared with December 2007.
Both E-mini equity index volume and OTC volume cleared on ClearPort demonstrated strong growth in December as well, growing 15% and 56%, respectively. The PJM off-peak and peak electricity swap futures contracts were launched on ClearPort on 8 December and are priced at approximately 3 cents and 40 cents per contract, respectively.
The lower priced off-peak contracts averaged 43,000 contracts per day from the launch until the end of the month, while the peak contracts averaged 4,000 contracts per day. These lower priced contracts represented 8% of the volume cleared on ClearPort for the full month of December and 2.5% of the cleared volume in the fourth quarter. As a result, the rolling 3-month average rate per contract for ClearPort through December is expected to decrease.
L.D.