March Total Options Volume Off 10 Percent
On Monday, the Options Industry Council reported that 376,246,042 total options contracts changed hands in March, a 9.8 percent decline from the previous year's 417,188,575 contracts; this represented the second highest monthly volume on record.
Average daily trading volume for March was 17,102,093 contracts, a 5.7 percent decline from March 2011's 18,138,634 contracts.
Average daily trading volume for March was 17,102,093 contracts, a 5.7 percent decline from March 2011's 18,138,634 contracts.
Year-to-date March options volume was 1,061,109,209 contracts, 7.7 percent lower than the 1,149,883,317 contracts from the same time period last year. This number marks the second time in history that first quarter volume was greater than one billion contracts.
Equity Options Volume
March equity options volume (options on individual stocks and ETFs) was 347,851,439 contracts, a 9.9 percent decline from March 2011's voume of 386,202,726 contracts.
In March, average daily volume was 15,811,429 contracts, representing a 5.8 percent decline from the previous March volume of 16,791,423 contracts.
Year-to-date equity options volume was 984,507,776 contracts, an 8.2 percent fall from the 1,072,980,649 contracts traded through 2011's first quarter.
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Compiled by The Options Insider staff.
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