Futures volume more than doubles in August at CBOE

CHICAGO

The CBOE Futures Exchange said Wednesday that trading volume more than doubled in August compared with the same month a year ago, and rose 8 percent compared with July 2010.

August was the third most-active trading month this year at the Chicago-based futures exchange and marked the 11th consecutive month in which total volume rose compared with the same month a year earlier.

August futures trading volume totaled 291,533 contracts, compared with 105,506 in August 2009. In July 2010, volume was 270,014 contracts. August had 22 trading days this year, compared with 21 in August 2009, and 21 in July 2010.

Through this year's first eight months, trading volume is up 348 percent compared with the same period of 2009.

The bulk of the trading involves futures based on the Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index, which measures investor expectations of stock market volatility over the next 30 days.

Futures are a form of financial derivative. The contracts are agreements to buy or sell a security at a particular price on a stipulated date.