Options Trading Volume up 30% in September

As investors discover the advantages available trading options, they are becoming more and more popular. The following article really quantifies that increase in popularity.

The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that total options trading volume for September was 391,246,939 contracts, 29.52 percent higher than the September 2010 volume of 302,075,193 contracts.

Average daily trading volume in September was 18,630,807 contracts, 29.52 percent higher than average daily volume of 14,384,533 contracts in September 2010. Furthermore, year-to-date volume stood at 3,507,063,494 contracts at the end of September, 22.46 percent higher than the same point last year when 2,863,809,736 contracts were traded. Average daily trading volume for 2011 was 18,555,891 contracts, up 21.81 percent over the 15,233,030 contracts traded in the same period last year.

OIC also reported that equity options volume (options on individual stocks and ETFs) in September came in at 359,818,479 contracts, up 28.65 percent compared to the same period last year. Daily equity options volume had an average of 17,134,213 contracts per day in September, which is 28.65 percent higher than the year-ago level of 13,318,876. Year-to-date equity options volume was 3,248,324,766 contracts, which is 22.95 percent higher than the same point last year when 2,642,004,136 contracts were traded.

About OIC

OIC is an industry cooperative funded by BATS Options, Boston Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, C2, International Securities Exchange, NASDAQ OMX PHLX, NASDAQ Options Market, NYSE Amex Options, NYSE Arca Options and OCC. OIC was formed in 1992 to educate investors and their financial advisors about the benefits and risks of exchange-traded equity options.

Learn more about the OIC here

Option Trading Secrets