- 1997: Volume 6, No. 1 Options Performance in 1996

Options traders pumped enough trading volume into U.S. futures and securities exchanges during 1996 to leave options trading volume in a dead heat with futures contract volume according to statistics released by the Futures Industry Association. The number of contracts traded grew by 4.04% over 1995 levels compared to a 0.53% rate of growth for futures contracts.

Where Did Growth Occur?

The number of contracts on individual equities, which account for more than half of all options traded, grew by 14.25% reflecting investors' interest in the tremendous bull market we experienced in 1996. It is interesting to note that the interest in equities did not extend to the trading of equity indexes where annual volume was off 13.95% during 1996. Volume in the interest rate category remained essentially flat, posting a gain of only 1/2%.

Moving away from the financials, volume in ag options contracts posted a solid gain 40.19%.

U.S. Options Volume 1994-1996

U.S. Options Traded in '96

Futures vs. Options in 1996