CME Group U.S. Treasury Open Interest Hits Record
CME Group announced that open interest in its U.S. Treasury futures and options set a new record of 36.3 million contracts on February 24. The derivatives marketplace also saw new open interest records in its 2-, 5-, 10-, and 30-year treasury products. The figures indicate heightened activity and positioning in interest rate markets.
- The previous open interest record was 35.1 million contracts, set in November 2025. - Open interest measures the total number of unsettled futures or options contracts, indicating the capital committed to the market, whereas trading volume reflects the total number of contracts traded during a period. - A key driver for the increased activity is growing uncertainty surrounding monetary policy, government spending, and inflationary pressures, according to Agha Mirza, CME Group Global Head of Rates and OTC Products. - The number of large open interest holders (LOIH) in U.S. Treasury futures also hit a record of 2,100, based on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Commitment of Traders report from February 10. - Analysis of market positioning shows a significant divergence among large participants, with asset managers increasing their net long positions in Treasury futures while leveraged funds have built substantial short positions. - The products are eligible for portfolio margining with other cleared interest rate swaps and cross-margining with FICC-cleared cash U.S. Treasury securities, offering capital efficiencies.
