The Options Industry Council Announces Continued Growth As July Options Trading Increased 37% Over Same Period Last Year

Chicago—August 1, 2006

The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that total options trading volume in July reached 154,613,858 contracts, a 36.9 percent increase over the year-ago level of 112,876,662 contracts.

Equity options volume for July reached 139,584,411 contracts, 35.4 percent higher than July last year and year-to-date equity options volume is up 43.3 percent over the same period a year ago.

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) reported a new open interest record was set on July 21 with 229,047,737 total contracts. Open interest, the total number of options contracts not yet exercised or allowed to expire, is seen as an indication of longer-term investing in these instruments.

Additional volume statistics reported by OCC include:

• Average daily equity options volume: 6,979,221 contracts (up 35.4 percent over July 2005)
• Average daily total options volume: 7,730,693 contracts (up 37 percent over July 2005)
• Year-to-date average daily equity options volume: 7,283,268 contracts (up 43.3 percent over same period in 2005)
• Year-to-date average daily total options volume: 8,015,643 contracts (up 43.7 percent over same period in 2005)
• Year-to-date total volume is currently at 1,162,268,259 contracts, an increase of 43.7 percent over the same period last year.

July Highlights

Total options volume added one new top 10 record day in July when 11,782,868 contracts traded hands on July 21, making it the seventh-highest daily volume total ever. Also on July 21, equity options volume reached 10,746,078 contracts, making it the seventh-highest equity volume day.

About OIC

OIC is a non-profit association funded by the American Stock Exchange, Boston Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NYSE Arca, Philadelphia Stock Exchange and The Options Clearing Corporation. OIC's resources include: The Options Industry Services Options Help Desk at 1-888-OPTIONS, an educational Web site at www.888options.com, evening seminars throughout the continental United States and Canada, and educational literature and software.

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