CHICAGO, Ill, June 2, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that 315,630,235 total options contracts traded in May, which is 18.32 percent less than last May when 386,428,255 contracts were traded. Overall 2014 volume remains up by 0.60 percent with 1,761,732,803 contracts compared to last year's 1,751,155,921 contracts.
Average daily volume for the month was down 14.43 percent with 15,030,011 contracts exchanged compared to last May's 17,564,921 contracts. For the year so far, average daily came in at 17,104,202 contracts, 1.58 percent more than the same period last year when 16,838,038 contracts were traded.
Equity options volume (options on individual stocks and ETPs) was 284,062,162 contracts, down 19.21 percent compared to last May when 351,610,399 contracts were exchanged. Average daily volume for equity options in May came in at 13,526,770 contracts, 15.36 percent less than last year's 15,982,291 contracts. Year-to-date equity options volume stood at 1,588,609,243 contracts, slightly up with a 0.02 percent increase compared to the 1,588,250,220 contracts traded at the same point last year.
About OIC
OIC is an industry cooperative funded by all the U.S. options exchanges and OCC. OIC was formed in 1992 to educate investors and their financial advisors about the benefits and risks of exchange-traded equity options. OIC's resources include: Investor Services live help at 1-888-OPTIONS, its educational website at http://www.OptionsEducation.org, live seminars throughout the continental United States and Canada, and educational literature.
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