Interest rate ETD open interest soars

Outstanding positions at end-March hit $105 trillion

Market participants piled into exchange-traded interest rate derivatives in the first quarter of the year, with open interest in options and futures contracts combined growing 31%.

Open interest across short- and long-term contracts stood at $105 trillion at end-March, up from $81 trillion at end-December 2017. 

Short-term contract open interest grew from $77 trillion to $102 trillion, whereas long-term contract open interest grew from $3.1 trillion to $3.4 trillion. 

Interest rate futures