CHICAGO, Ill, Aug. 1, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that 355,432,350 total options contracts traded in July, up 9.48 percent compared to last July when 324,651,203 contracts exchanged hands. This marks the second busiest July on record behind July 2008.
Average daily volume for the month also increased 9.48 percent with 16,156,016 contracts exchanged compared to last July's 14,756,873 contracts. Year-to-date volume stood at 2,438,523,550, up 0.06 percent (1.5 million contracts) from the 2,436,987,381 contracts traded in the same period last year.
Equity options volume (options on individual stocks and ETPs) came in at 322,425,332 contracts, 9.27 percent more than the previous July when 295,059,480 contracts were exchanged. Average daily volume for equity options traded in July was 14,655,697 contracts, 9.27 percent more than last year's 13,411,795 contracts. Year-to-date equity options volume stood at 2,199,355,885 contracts, off 0.49 percent compared to the 2,210,205,854 contracts traded at the same point last year.
About OIC
The Options Industry Council (OIC) is an industry cooperative funded by the U.S. options exchanges and OCC. OIC's mission is to provide free and unbiased education to investors and financial advisors about the benefits and risks of exchange-traded equity options. OIC delivers its education through the Options Education Program, a structured platform offering live seminars, self-directed online courses, mobile tools, podcasts, webinars and live help. OIC's resources can be accessed online at OptionsEducation.org, via mobile app for iOS, or by phone at 1-888-OPTIONS.
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