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MICEX currency futures activity soars in first half of May
May 14, 2008
The MICEX (“MICEX”), which integrates trading and settlement systems for Russia’s financial markets, has announced that during the first half of May 2008, trading activity in the currency futures segment of the MICEX derivatives market grew substantially. During the first 12 days of May, the total volume of trading in USD futures totaled RUR 139.6 billion, or 5,803.4 thousand contracts. During this period, the daily average volume of trading in USD futures amounted to 967.2 thousand contracts, a 14% increase on the previous record figure that was reached in August 2007 (847.5 thousand contracts). Open interest increased markedly, and on May 13 2008 reached its new record figure of 8,077.9 thousand contracts (RUR 191.6 billion in monetary terms), a 16% increase on the previous record (January 31 2008: 6,941.3 thousand contracts). The MICEX derivatives market continues to dominate Russia's on-exchange market for currency derivatives, both in terms of trading volumes and the volume of open interest, accounting for 97% of the total trading volume and 94% of the open interest. The figures achieved by the MICEX for the RUR/USD contract exceed those for Chicago Mercantile Exchange in May – they are 9.6 times the CME figure for trading volume and 3.7 times that for the volume of open interest.
Notes to editors
1. The MICEX Group’s derivatives market is one of the main organized markets for derivative financial instruments in Russia, and the leading market for currency futures. The following currency futures are traded in the MICEX Derivatives (Standard Contracts) Market Section: USD futures, euro futures and EUR/USD futures. In addition MICEX organizes futures trading on the compounded MosIBOR overnight interest rate and the three-month MosPrime Rate, which are calculated by the National Foreign Exchange Association (NFEA) and are the most representative indicators of the Russian money market.
2. There are 191 member organizations in the Derivatives Market Section. Liquidity in the MICEX derivatives market is maintained by six official market makers.
3. In June 2007, trading was launched on the derivatives market of the MICEX Stock Exchange. At present, MICEX Index futures are traded on the market. Market makers maintain regular quotations for the MICEX Index futures. The total number of participants in trading in the MICEX Stock Exchange’s derivatives market has reached 130 organizations.
4. In April 2008, trading started in the Standard Contracts Section of the National Mercantile Exchange (NAMEX), the section for commodity derivatives within the MICEX Group’s derivatives market. The first three contracts related to wheat futures. There are 39 member organizations in the Standard Contracts Section of the National Mercantile Exchange.
5. Find more information on the MICEX Group’s derivatives market on the Derivatives Market page of the MICEX web site (http://www.micex.ru/futures/) or call 7 495 705 9612.
6. The MICEX Group, which has a central role within the infrastructure of the Russian capital markets, comprises the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX), the MICEX Stock Exchange, the National Mercantile Exchange, the MICEX Settlement House, the National Depositary Center, the National Clearing Center, and regional exchanges. Together, these organizations provide trading, settlement, clearing and depositary services to about 1,500 market participants.
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