<p>Trading activities in futures
and options on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) reached a new high on Monday,
March 13, as 14.45 million contracts were traded on said day. The volume
surpassed the previous peak record set three years ago on March 12, 2020, at
the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>ICE, which operates futures and
cash exchanges and central clearing houses, disclosed the milestone in a statement released on Wednesday. “Volume records set on March 13, 2023, included ICE’s
financials futures and options portfolio, with a record 10 million contracts
traded, the highest level since May 29, 2018,” <a href=”https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/intercontinental-exchange/” target=”_blank” rel=”follow”>the exchange operator</a> added.</p><p>Speaking on the new records,
Chris Rhodes, President of ICE Futures Europe, noted that the increase reflects
the increasing use of futures as a risk management tool.</p><p>“The record level of trading
activity which took place on ICE’s markets on March 13 reflects a sudden change
in <a href=”https://www.financemagnates.com/fintech/svbs-collapse-casts-shadow-on-bank-shares-as-first-republic-bank-slumps-over-60/” target=”_blank” rel=”follow”>risk sentiment in U.S. regional bank stocks</a>, which collided with interest
rate expectations that were priced for central bank tightening,” said Chris
Rhodes, President of ICE Futures Europe. “These volumes reflect a flight to
liquidity, demonstrating the reliability of futures markets as a risk
management tool,” Rhodes added.</p><p>Derivatives Trading on Rates Reach New Highs</p><p>Giving further details on the
records, ICE disclosed that futures and options trading based on <a href=”https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/euribor/” target=”_blank” rel=”follow”>the Euro
Interbank Offer Rate (EURIBOR)</a> peaked at a record 5.49 million contracts during
the day. This beats the previous record set on May 29, 2018. Euribor is a
reference rate that measures the average interest rate at which banks in the
eurozone are willing to lend to each other on a
short-term basis.</p><p>On the other hand, trading
activities based on <a href=”https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/sonia/” target=”_blank” rel=”follow”>the Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA)</a> surged to
record 1.17 million futures and options contracts. SONIA is the average rate
banks in the British sterling market are willing to provide overnight lending
to other banks in need of funding.</p><p>“For comparison, average daily
volume (ADV) year to date in ICE’s financial futures and options portfolio is 3
million contracts while ADV in Euribor is 1.8 million contracts,” ICE noted.</p>
This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.
