Fastest growth since 2004 as market shatters trading records

Trading figures are still filtering in from derivatives exchanges around the world but it is already clear that 2010 was a record year for trading around the world – and by a mile.

By Friday 7 January FOi’s database was showing 21.5bn contracts were traded worldwide, up from 17bn in 2009 and 17.5bn in 2008.

But the database figure does not yet include the December numbers from Liffe, which FOi reported this morning were 76m contracts, or the 254m contracts traded at Korea Exchange, or those from National Stock Exchange of India, Russian Trading System and many other exchanges.

It is clear total volume for 2010 will comfortably exceed 22bn contracts, meaning the market will have grown by well over 30% – almost certainly faster than the 30.5% growth in 2007.

To find such rapid growth in global volume one has to go back to 2004, when trading leapt from 5.1bn contracts to 8.6bn – just 40% of today’s level.

Most of the world’s top exchanges enjoyed record trading in 2010, notably NYSE Liffe, which managed not to shrink even in 2009 and last year put on a 16% growth spurt, helped by strong trading of its Euribor Futures.

The Korea Exchange defied suggestions that its volumes might have plateaued with an astonishing late year boom in Kospi 200 Option trading, delivering 21% full year growth to 3.75bn contracts.

CME Group’s volume bounded from 2.58bn contracts in depressed 2009 to 3.08bn, fractionally ahead of its 2007 total but not quite enough to beat 2008’s haul of 3.21bn. Eurex was similar, with 11% growth but a total still well below the 2008 peak.

As a whole, the US options market contributed growth of 8% to 3.9bn contracts, after a 2009 in which it grew by less than 1%. The last year when that market did not set a record was 2002.

Jon Hay +44 207 779 8372 jhay@fow.com