CBOE Updates
CBOE TO LIST OPTIONS ON TWO NEW METALS ETF PRODUCTS
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Dec 9, 2008 - 6:30:32 PM

CBOE TO LIST OPTIONS ON TWO NEW METALS ETF PRODUCTS
Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE)announced that beginning Monday, Dec. 8, the Exchange will list options on two new precious metals exchange-traded funds (ETFs) - iShares COMEX Gold Trust and iShares Silver Trust (CBOE ticker symbols: IAU and SLV, respectively). The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved CBOE's filing late on Thursday.

The iShares COMEX Gold Trust and iShares Silver Trust are ETFs that seek to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion and silver bullion, respectively, less the trusts' expenses.Both trusts hold physical metals.

The Designated Primary Market Maker (DPM) for these ETF options is Barclays Capital. Both contracts, specifying American-style expiration, will trade on the January expiration cycle, with introductory expirations in December, January, April and July.

Initial strike prices for IAU are in five-point increments and range from 65 to 85. Position limits are 20 million options contracts. Strike prices for SLV range from 5 to15 in one-point increments. Position limits are 25 million option contracts.

Last June, CBOE introduced its first-ever options product on a precious metals ETF - the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD) - after receiving regulatory approval from the SEC.Average daily volume (ADV) in GLD has been impressive, ranging from 12,000 contracts ADV in its first month of trading to as high as more than a 40,000-contract-per-day average in August.

Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), the largest U.S. options exchange and creator of listed options, continues to set the bar for options trading through product innovation, trading technology and investor education. CBOE offers equity, index and ETF options, including proprietary products, such as S&P 500 options (SPX), the most active U.S. index option, and options on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), the world's barometer for market volatility. Other groundbreaking products engineered by CBOE include equity options, security index options, LEAPS, FLEX options, and benchmark products such as the CBOE BuyWrite Index (BXM). CBOE's Hybrid Trading System incorporates electronic and open-outcry trading, enabling customers to choose their trading method.CBOE's Hybrid is powered by CBOEdirect, a proprietary, state-of-the-art electronic platform that also supports the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE), CBOE Stock Exchange (CBSX) and OneChicago.

CBOE YEAR-TO-DATE VOLUME UP 28 PERCENT
Through November, trading reached an all-time record of 1.121 billion contracts with an average daily volume (ADV) of 4.85 million contracts. This was 28 percent higher than the same 11-month period in 2007. Year-to-date ADV showed ETF, cash-settled index and equity options all up from year-earlier figures - 61 percent, 13 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

November 2008 Versus November 2007. November average daily volume of 4.56 million contracts dipped one percent against November 2007 ADV of 4.63 million contracts, which stands as a record for any November at CBOE.However, during November, ADV in ETF options rose 11 percent, while cash-settled indexes and equity options dropped by single digits - seven percent and five percent, respectively - versus November 2007.

November 2008 Versus October 2008. In November, CBOE average daily volume was off 22 percent compared to October 2008, the highest volume month in the Exchange's 35-year history.