Eurex reports strong volumes as OTC business shines in February
Eurex, the European derivatives exchange owned by financial titan Deutsche Börse Group, today reported record volumes in euro clearing as investors are turning to place more bets on the ECB’s monetary policy.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine impacted, and potentially derailed, many of the policy plans the central bank had for the rest of the year.
Notional outstanding volumes in OTC Clearing grew to EUR 25,933 billion in February 2022, up 30 percent compared to EUR 19,903 billion the same month last year.
Additionally, Interest Rate Swaps and Overnight Index Swaps climbed 39 percent and 162 percent, respectively. Average daily cleared volumes also grew by 10 percent, with Interest Rate Swaps (up 69 percent) and Overnight Index Swaps (up 148 percent) again beating the overall growth figure.
Eurex disclosed that a total of 166.4 million contracts were traded across its financial derivatives, which include European equity index, interest rate, and equity derivatives. This figure was higher by 17 percent over a yearly timeframe, compared to 142 million contracts reported back in February 2021.
Equity index derivatives was the standout sector with 28 percent year-on-year growth, from 61.7 million traded contracts to 78.8 million. Interest rate derivatives also increased 18 percent, from 55.5 million traded contracts to 65.6 million. However, total contracts traded in equity derivatives dropped by around 12 percent.
At Eurex Repo, the electronic marketplace for secured funding and financing, overall average monthly term-adjusted volumes increased by 11 percent year-on-year, from EUR 171.5 billion to 190.7 billion.
The Eurex FX offering of classic FX futures and options, in combination with the rolling spot futures, allows traders to manage their FX exposures with listed products.
The pan-European exchange has made efforts over the past year to expand its FX trading business, most recently signing major banks to support their FX futures, from clearing to trading.
Eurex’s currency trading desk currently offers various FX derivatives products, including FX futures available in 19 currency pairs, all with quotation and tick sizes in-line with existing OTC FX standards. A liquidity scheme caters for tight pricing and competitive liquidity, it says.
