Minneapolis Grain Exchange Breaks Fiscal Year Option Volume Records - September 3, 2003

MINNEAPOLIS–The Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) announced today that records were established in both total options trading volume and in hard red spring wheat options volume for fiscal year 2003.  The MGEX fiscal year runs from September 1 through August 31.

MGEX options volume totaled 58,620 contracts for fiscal year 2003.  The prior record for fiscal year total options volume was FY 1999 when 52,001 contracts traded.  Of the 58,620 option contracts traded, 56,136 were spring wheat options.  The previous spring wheat options volume record of 51,118 contracts was established in 1999.
Total MGEX futures trading volume for the fiscal year totaled 1,144,714 contracts, an increase of 13.6 percent versus the FY 2002 total of 1,007,240 contracts.  Fiscal year 2003 spring wheat futures volume was 1,136,542 contracts, an increase of 12.9 percent versus fiscal year 2002 spring wheat futures volume. 

High volatility in September, October and November 2002 led to record futures volume during those months and contributed to the increased volume in fiscal year 2003.

MGEX, established in 1881, is the only market for hard red spring wheat, Hard Winter Wheat Index (HWI), National Corn Index (NCI) and National Soybean Index (NSI) futures and options. www.mgex.com