The Options Industry Council Announces February Options Volume Down 8.16 Percent

Chicago—March 1, 2013

The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that 320,943,312 total options contracts were traded in February, which represents an 8.16 percent decline compared to last year when 349,463,168 contracts were traded.

Average daily volume in February came in at 16,891,753 contracts, 3.33 percent down from the 17,473,158 contracts in February of last year. Year-to-date volume stood at 682,014,933 contracts, just off of last year’s 684,863,167 contracts by 0.42 percent.

Equity options volume came in at 292,572,720 contracts, down 9.50 percent compared to last February when 323,293,320 contracts were exchanged. Average daily volume for equity options in February came in at 15,398,564 contracts, down 4.74 percent from last year’s 16,164,666 contracts. Year-to-date equity options volume stood at 619,838,295 contracts which is 2.64 percent less than the 636,656,337 contracts traded at the same point last year.

About OIC
OIC is an industry cooperative funded by BATS Options, BOX Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, C2 Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, MIAX Options, NASDAQ OMX PHLX, NASDAQ Options Market, NYSE Amex Options, NYSE Arca Options and OCC. OIC was formed in 1992 to educate investors and their financial advisors about the benefits and risks of exchange-traded equity options. OIC's resources include: Investor Services live help at 1-888-OPTIONS, its educational website at www.OptionsEducation.org, live seminars throughout the continental United States and Canada, and educational literature.

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