CME Group Sets New All-Time High ADV at 35.9 Million Contracts, Up by 36%

CME Group has reported a new all-time high in average daily volume (ADV) for April 2025, reaching 35.9 million contracts, up 36 percent from April 2024.

The company said the increase was driven by record activity across interest rate, equity index, metals, and international markets.

Interest Rate Products Up by 46% YoY

The group’s interest rate products led the growth with an ADV of 18.4 million contracts, a 46 percent increase year-over-year. Within this segment, SOFR futures reached a record 6 million contracts per day, while U.S. Treasury options set a new high with 1.8 million contracts traded daily. Other notable performers included the 5-Year U.S. Treasury Note futures, which saw ADV grow 51 percent to 2.1 million contracts, and the 10-Year U.S. Treasury Note futures, which rose 25 percent to 2.9 million contracts.

Equity index products recorded their highest ever monthly ADV at 9.7 million contracts, up 28 percent from April 2024. The Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 and Micro E-mini S&P 500 futures reached daily volumes of 2.3 million and 2 million contracts respectively. The E-mini Russell 2000 futures ADV rose 43 percent to 300,000 contracts, and Micro E-mini Dow Jones futures advanced 80 percent to 218,000 contracts.

CME’s metals segment also set a new monthly record with 1 million contracts traded daily. Micro Gold futures reached an all-time high of 287,000 contracts, while Gold options hit a record 153,000 contracts per day.

Energy markets recorded an ADV of 3.3 million contracts, up 36 percent year-over-year. WTI Crude Oil futures increased 29 percent to 1.3 million contracts, and Henry Hub Natural Gas futures climbed 34 percent to 660,000 contracts. Energy options posted a record 609,000 contracts traded daily, while Henry Hub Natural Gas options jumped 66 percent to 321,000 contracts.

The agricultural complex reached 2.1 million contracts in ADV, a 16 percent increase. Corn and soybean futures were up 18 percent and 20 percent, respectively, while agricultural options rose 31 percent to 399,000 contracts.

Foreign exchange markets saw a 28 percent year-over-year increase, reaching 1.3 million contracts daily. Japanese Yen futures increased 43 percent to 243,000 contracts and Australian Dollar futures rose 24 percent to 137,000 contracts. On the spot side, EBS FX volumes increased 46 percent to $89.3 billion in average daily notional value.

CME’s cryptocurrency derivatives segment recorded 183,000 contracts traded daily, representing $8.9 billion in notional value. Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether futures posted ADVs of 78,000 and 63,000 contracts respectively, while Ether futures rose 239 percent to 14,000 contracts.

International participation also reached a new record with 10.9 million contracts traded daily outside the U.S. EMEA volumes accounted for 7.8 million contracts, Asia contributed 2.6 million, and Latin America added 235,000 contracts. Micro products made up a substantial portion of trading, particularly in equity index futures and options, where they represented 48.1 percent of total volume.

CME also reported record Repo trading on BrokerTec, with U.S. Repo average daily notional value up 28 percent to $378 billion and U.S. Treasury Repo ADNV up 39 percent to $151 billion. European Repo trading rose 8 percent to €321 billion. FX Link ADV increased 80 percent to 47,000 contracts, translating to $5 billion notional per leg.

Collateral balances averaged $78.6 billion in cash and $173.7 billion in non-cash instruments for the three-month period ending March 2025, reflecting the continued institutional demand for CME’s clearing and margin services.