June 3, 1998

I- MONEP equity derivatives

May trading volume in equity derivatives stood at 1,174,610 contracts. Since the month of May had only 18 trading days, average daily volume stood at 65,256 contracts, up 4.2% from April's daily average.
Open interest at month-end grew 13% compared with last month, at 1,801,245 contracts.

1/ Options
Average daily contract volume in short-term CAC 40 option (PX1) was up 17.9%. Short-term and long-term equity options both showed a rise. The most active contracts were the Rhône Poulenc short-term option (36,041 contracts) and the BNP long-term option (6,821 contracts).

Option premium turnover, at FF 6.6 billion, was the second highest ever recorded on the MONEP. Average daily turnover reached a record FF 365.4 million. Monthly premium volumes also set following records:

• long-term CAC 40 option: FF 2.8 billion (previous record was FF 2.4 billion established in April 1998)
• long-term equity options: FF 489.1 million (previous record: FF 430.4 billion in March 1998).

Open interest increased for all categories of options, reaching a record 335,903 contracts for long-term equity options.

2/ Futures
Volume in CAC 40 futures totalled 416,492 contracts in May. An all-time high was reached on 26 May when the May expiry traded at 4,144.5.

II- MATIF interest-rate derivatives

A total of 2,220,059 fixed-income contracts were traded on Matif in May 1998.

A daily average of 73,766 Notional bond contracts represented a rise of 2.6% from the previous month. The Notional contract has steadily increased its share of trading in the 10-year segment since the launch of the NSC-VF electronic trading system on April 7. It was thus up from 15% of total trading in bund and Notional contracts to approximately 20% in the second half of May.

There are now 28 traders on their own account - négociateurs pour compte propre or NCPs - connected to the system and they will be joined by another 47 in coming days. Altogether 70 of the 80 locals (NIPs) previously active on the open outcry market have opted for the new status. In addition, five new participants have already been approved by the CMF, the self-regulatory authority for French financial markets.

Following the switch to fully electronic trading on June 2, Matif is well placed for a rebound, with 75 traders on their own account bringing added liquidity, while over 200 NSC-VF screens are in operation in Paris, London and the US. Market appeal has also gained from a 58% reduction in fees since April 1.

III- MATIF commodity futures

The commodity compartment consolidated positions in May, with volumes up 5.3% and open interest rising 38%.

Building on close cooperation between Matif SA and its members, the market as a whole is preparing for the transfer of all commodity contracts from open outcry to electronic trading at the end of June.

Appendices:

- Notional bond contracts and bund futures on Liffe and DTB
- Number of NSC-VF screens connected

Contacts :