The Options Industry Council announced today that a new monthly trading volume record has been set for the fifth time this year.
October options trading volume totaled 154,794,867 contracts, a 43.6% increase over the year-ago level of 107,785,508 contracts. October volume was 17.4% higher than in September.
Total options trading volume surpassed last year’s annual record on October 24, and YTD options volume finished October at 1,217,688,655 contracts traded, a 26.6% increase over the same point in 2004.
Equity options volume for October also set a new monthly trading record when it reached 140,238,062 contracts, 41.6% higher than October last year and 16.7% higher than the previous monthly record set in September. Year-to-date equity options trading volume is up 25.5% over the same period a year ago.