CME corn futures hit record daily volume on October 9

On October 9, CME Group reported that its corn futures reached a record daily volume of 1,206,376 contracts, surpassing the previous high of 1,128,597 contracts set in March 2019. This surge in volume was triggered by a USDA report revealing an abundance of ending stocks, yields, and production that exceeded market expectations.

The market had initially anticipated lower yields following a difficult summer. John Ricci, Global Head of Agricultural Products at CME Group, explained that market participants swiftly adjusted their positions and managed price risk by turning to Corn futures. CME Group's agriculture business averaged 2,022,488 contracts daily in the third quarter, an 18.1% increase year over year.

September's average daily volume hit 1,936,761 contracts, a 28.8% year-over-year surge. Corn futures averaged 502,004 contracts daily during the same period, a 35.2% increase year over year. Corn options had an average daily volume of 179,674, up 31.4% year over year. CME Group offers trading in various asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, energy, agricultural products, and metals, through its CME Globex platform, BrokerTec, and EBS platform.