OIC Announces November Options Trading Volume Increased 33%

Chicago—December 1, 2010

The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that 352,045,303 total options contracts changed hands in November, a 32.82 percent increase from the 265,052,803 contracts traded in November 2009.

November year-to-date volume came in at 3,557,861,250 contracts, 7.24 percent higher than the same year ago period when 3,317,633,597 contracts were traded and just 54,775,868 contracts away from reaching last year’s record volume of 3,612,637,118 contracts. Year-to-date average daily volume was 15,468,962 contracts at the end of November, a 7.24 percent increase compared to the 14,424,581 contracts traded at the same point last year. Average daily trading volume for November was 16,764,062 contracts, up 26.5 percent from the 13,252,641 contracts in November 2009.

Equity options volume in November saw 328,797,894 contracts change hands, 35.37 percent more than in November 2009 when 242,891,866 contracts were traded. On average, 15,657,043 contracts were traded each day throughout November compared to November of last year when an average of 12,144,593 contracts were traded daily, representing a 28.92 percent increase. Year-to-date equity options volume stood at 3,289,971,364 contracts, compared to 3,093,174,324 contracts at the same point last year, which marks a 6.36 percent increase.

About OIC

OIC is an industry cooperative funded by BATS Options, Boston Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NASDAQ OMX PHLX, NASDAQ Options Market, NYSE Amex Options, NYSE Arca Options, and The Options Clearing Corporation. 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: The Options Industry Services Help Desk at 1-888-OPTIONS, educational websites at www.OptionsEducation.org, www.OptionsEducation.org/advisor and www.OptionsEducation.org/institutional, evening seminars throughout the continental United States and Canada, instructional DVDs and educational literature and software.

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