- Nineteen percent increase in first-half 2008 average daily volume
- Record quarterly volumes in FX, up 26 percent, and NYMEX products on CME Globex, up 46 percent
- Record monthly volumes in FX, up 14 percent, and commodities and alternative investments, up 17 percent
- Annual 2008 expense guidance reiterated
CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, today announced second-quarter 2008 volume averaged 11.1 million contracts per day, up 7 percent from second-quarter 2007. Quarterly electronic volume increased 16 percent to 9.1 million contracts per day, compared with the same quarter last year, and represented 82 percent of total volume. June volume averaged 12.4 million contracts per day, up 16 percent from the prior month, but down 4 percent from June 2007. Total June volume exceeded 259 million contracts for the month, of which a record 83 percent was traded electronically. Total monthly electronic volume increased 4 percent versus June 2007 to average 10.3 million contracts per day. Year-to-date 2008 volume through June averaged 12.3 million contracts per day, up 19 percent versus the same period last year.
Second-Quarter Highlights
CME Group E-mini equity index volume averaged 2.8 million contracts per day, up 33 percent compared with second-quarter 2007. CME Group foreign exchange (FX) volume averaged a record 665,000 contracts per day, up 26 percent from second-quarter 2007, and represented a record average daily notional value traded of $94 billion, up 46 percent. CME Group commodities and alternative investments volume averaged 933,000 contracts per day, up 14 percent from the same period a year ago. CME Group interest rate volume averaged 6.5 million contracts per day, down 3 percent compared with the same quarter in 2007. Quarterly NYMEX energy and metals volume on the CME Globex electronic trading platform averaged a record 1.0 million contracts per day, up 46 percent.
All references to volume and rate per contract information in the text of this document assume combined legacy CME and legacy CBOT volumes and exclude our non-traditional TRAKRS products, for which CME Group receives significantly lower clearing fees than other CME Group products, and Swapstream products.
June 2008 Highlights
CME Group E-mini equity index volume averaged 3.5 million contracts per day, up 21 percent compared with June 2007. CME Group FX volume averaged a record 764,000 contracts per day, up 14 percent from June 2007, and represented a record average daily notional value traded of $107 billion, up 35 percent. CME Group commodities and alternative investments volume averaged a record 1.1 million contracts per day, up 17 percent. CME Group interest rate volume averaged 6.8 million contracts per day, growing from April and May levels, but down 17 percent compared with the same period in 2007. Monthly NYMEX energy and metals volume on CME Globex averaged 1.1 million contracts per day, up 44 percent.
Company Guidance
CME Group reiterates that it expects full-year 2008 operating expense to range between $855 and $870 million. This guidance includes $18 million of expense over the final three quarters of 2008 -- or approximately $6 million per quarter -- related to the acquisition of Credit Market Analysis Limited (CMA), a leading provider of credit derivatives market data, at the end of the first quarter. The company expects total second-quarter operating expenses to range between $218 and $221 million, which includes costs associated with several strategic initiatives. During the third and fourth quarters of 2008, the company expects to realize merger-related synergies associated with expiration of the e-cbot trading platform contract in mid-July, which will reduce expenses by approximately $8 million per quarter. The pro forma income statement for the first and second quarters, and going forward, will be shown as excluding the impact of an FX hedge related to the BM&F investment. This is because the offsetting impact on the underlying investment does not flow through the income statement. Lastly, beginning in late March, CME Group temporarily suspended its securities lending program. As of the end of the second quarter, the program has not been reinstated, although the company expects to reenter the program in early July.
CME GROUP QUARTERLY AVERAGE DAILY VOLUME (In thousands) Q2 2008 Q2 2007 Percent Change PRODUCT LINE Interest Rates 6,467 6,670 -3% E-minis 2,833 2,127 33% Equity Standard 161 180 -10% FX 665 527 26% Commodities and Alt. Inv.* 933 818 14% Total 11,060 10,322 7% Q2 2008 Q2 2007 Percent Change VENUE Open Outcry 1,836 2,297 -20% CME Globex 9,054 7,838 16% Privately Negotiated 170 188 -10% CME GROUP MONTHLY AVERAGE DAILY VOLUME (In thousands) June 2008 June 2007 Percent Change PRODUCT LINE Interest Rates 6,758 8,099 -17% E-minis 3,501 2,889 21% Equity Standard 228 245 -7% FX 764 668 14% Commodities and Alt. Inv.* 1,110 953 17% Total 12,360 12,852 -4% June 2008 June 2007 Percent Change VENUE Open Outcry 1,897 2,726 -30% CME Globex 10,259 9,861 4% Privately Negotiated 204 266 -23% *CME Group Commodities and Alternative Investments product line includes the legacy CME commodities and alternative investments product line and the legacy CBOT agricultural product line and metals, energy and other product line. CME GROUP ROLLING THREE-MONTH AVERAGES Average Rate Per Contract (In dollars, and calculated from combined average daily volumes for entire period) By Product Line By Venue 3-Month Period Commod- Privately Ending ities Elec Nego- Interest E- Equity and Alt. Open tron tia- Rates minis Standard FX Inv. Total Outcry ic ted May-08 0.527 0.661 1.473 0.918 1.114 0.644 0.575 0.622 2.354 Apr-08 0.521 0.676 1.484 0.926 1.117 0.643 0.586 0.617 2.332 Mar-08 0.505 0.684 1.506 0.927 1.119 0.630 0.553 0.609 2.345 Feb-08 0.506 0.705 1.501 0.963 1.109 0.635 0.563 0.616 2.593 Average Daily Volume (In thousands, average daily volumes combined for entire period) By Product Line By Venue 3-Month Period Commod- Privately Ending ities Elec Nego- Interest E- Equity and Alt. Open tron tia- Rates minis Standard FX Inv. Total Outcry ic ted Jun-08 6,467 2,833 161 665 933 11,060 1,836 9,054 170 May-08 6,702 2,987 172 662 865 11,387 1,883 9,308 195 Apr-08 7,303 3,138 179 645 960 12,224 2,017 9,989 218 Mar-08 8,251 3,628 201 640 949 13,669 2,336 11,097 236