By Tom Burnett CFA
According to the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”) in its April 4, 2022, press release, total options trading volume in the first quarter was the highest quarterly volume ever recorded. March volume was the second highest monthly volume ever recorded. March total volume was 943 million contracts, up 4.4% from the March 2021 volume. For the first quarter in 2022, average daily volume was 42.7 million contracts, up 1.2% from the prior year’s quarter.
Compared to March 2021, volume in equity options decline from a daily average of 28.5 million contracts to a daily average of 24.4 million contracts. Volume increased dramatically, however, in ETF options and Index options to total a record quarter for overall option activity. Total overall volume in all products reached 2.65 billion contracts, up from 2.57 billion in the March 2021 quarter.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research