$8B/day: margin savings that are too big to ignore
A new study from Coalition Greenwich reveals how cross-margin opportunities, like those available from CME Group’s Portfolio Margin program, are driving change in fixed income. See how these impressive savings are reshaping the market, including key findings around the impacts of clearing mandates and the importance of initial margin on total trading costs.
Putting up new records in Treasury options
As uncertainty continues at the short-end of the curve, traders have embraced 2-Yr Treasury options as an efficient way to establish a position. September saw new records for both average daily volume (ADV) and open interest (OI), with ADV surging by more than 150% year-over-year (YoY).
While 2-Yr options were a standout, other parts of the curve also experienced solid growth in September, including:
- A new average daily open interest (ADOI) record for Ultra-10 Treasury options - up 285% YoY.
- Fresh highs in Tue/Thu options, the newest members of the suite, as OI hit 235K on September 25.
Credit futures triple play: OI records, new offsets and large trades
Credit futures were extremely active in the September roll period, reaching a new OI high of over 8,600 contracts on September 15.
ADV for the month was 5,860 contracts, a nearly 400% increase from a year ago.
High Yield open interest in particular is on the rise, with a recent block trade of over 900 contracts in High Yield futures (HYB), demonstrating the deep liquidity available. Strong and growing liquidity along with impressive margin offsets across the suite are continuing to drive growth in Credit futures.
More in Interest Rates
Chicago CLOB: Dishing out deep liquidity
A new era of cash vs. futures trading has arrived with the successful launch of the BrokerTec Chicago CLOB. This second U.S. Treasury CLOB is co-located side-by-side with our core futures and options markets outside Chicago.
Liquidity is quickly building across the curve in this new platform that offers inside pricing, increased precision and seamless integration into existing BTEC connectivity.
Calling all STIR traders: Important SERs for SOFR
For options, please note that, effective September 21, several SOFR options are trading at a 1/4 tick, including:
- Four nearest quarterly contract months
- Serial months and monthly options
All other quarterly contracts will remain at a half tick.
On the futures side, an adjustment has been made to block trade rules in Three-Month SOFR contracts.
This includes a shift in the requirements for a block minimum threshold, which impacts multi-legged intra-commodity block trades.
New solutions coming of age
Several new additions to the CME Group Rates lineup made great strides in Q3, including:
F-TIIE - A new record for quarterly ADOI at just over 700 contracts, up nearly 72% from the previous quarter.
X-CCY - Cross-Currency futures also saw new highs in ADV and ADOI in Q3, including a nearly 2x increase in ADOI compared to last quarter.
Data as of October 1, 2025, unless otherwise specified.
View an archive of the Rates Recap online at cmegroup.com/ratesrecap.
The opinions and statements contained in the commentary on this page do not constitute an offer or a solicitation, or a recommendation to implement or liquidate an investment or to carry out any other transaction. It should not be used as a basis for any investment decision or other decision. Any investment decision should be based on appropriate professional advice specific to your needs. This content has been produced by [Data Resource Technology]. CME Group has not had any input into the content and neither CME Group nor its affiliates shall be responsible or liable for the same.
CME GROUP DOES NOT REPRESENT THAT ANY MATERIAL OR INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS APPROPRIATE FOR USE OR PERMITTED IN ANY JURISDICTION OR COUNTRY WHERE SUCH USE OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE CONTRARY TO ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION.
