May 5, 1998

I- MONEP equity derivatives

April trading volume in equity derivatives totalled 1,251,966 contracts and averaged 62,598 contracts daily ¾a 16.5% decrease over March's record volume. Open interest at month-end rose 25.7% to 1,593,699 contracts.

Options
The most active CAC 40 index option was the long-term contract (PXL) which averaged 10,870 contracts, compared with 9,361 contracts in March (+16.1%). The most active short-term equity option was AGF (45,213 contracts). The most active long-term equity option was Axa (7,901 contracts). Month-end open interest in long-term equity options set a new record at 313,658 contracts.

As at 30 April, year-to-date option premium turnover had surged 62.4% over the same period last year to FF 22.5 billion. Trading volume stood at 3,388,422 contracts, up 3.2%.

Futures
Volume in CAC 40 futures totalled 483,642 contracts in April. On 21 April, the contract was transferred to MONEP's NSC-VO electronic trading system, which is now the sole trading method for all MONEP contracts. Daily average volume in CAC 40 futures, which amounted 21,182 contracts for the whole month, was 14,115 contracts from 1 to 20 April and 38,143 contracts from 21 to 31 April. Open interest at month-end stood at 82,014 contracts, up 5.5% from last month and up 15.5% from April 1997.

II- MATIF interest-rate derivatives

A total of 2,591,678 interest-rate contracts were traded on Matif in April 1998.

After a lull of several days coinciding with the long Easter holiday, adaptation to the new NSC-VF trading system and limited volatility in interest rates, trade volumes started up again. Average trade volumes nearly doubled between the period from April 6-17 (91,431 lots daily) and the last week of April (179,980 lots daily).

During trading hours by open outcry, from 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Paris time, an average of 88% of Matif interest-rate contracts were traded through the NSC-VF electronic system launched April 8, which operates continuously from 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. The proportion was nearly identical for Notional contracts (87.6%), Matif 5-year contracts (89.8%) and Pibor futures (87.4%).

III- MATIF commodity futures

Trading in colza futures showed a further rise, up 23.3% from March to April 1998. Launched in October 1994, colza futures saw a 17.6% rise in 1996 and a 23.7% rise in 1997.

Trading in the milling wheat future averaged 168 lots a day - a healthy level given unfavorable environment on the physical market. The figure reflects real support from market operators for a product launched ahead of reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.

Trading in commodity futures will shift to the NSC-VF electronic system exclusively in June 1998. They will thus become accessible to all operators equipped with NSC screens, regardless of their geographical location.

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