CME Group U.S. Treasury Open Interest Hits Record of 35 Million Contracts

Rhea-AI Summary

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) reported record open interest of 35,120,066 contracts in U.S. Treasury futures and options on November 20, 2025, and 44,839,732 contracts traded on November 21, 2025 (the second-highest daily volume ever).

The company highlighted client use of its interest rate products amid uncertainty over economic growth and Fed easing, noted eligibility for portfolio margining and cross-margining with cleared swaps and FICC-cleared cash Treasuries, and said clients can access more than $20 billion in daily margin savings across its interest rate products.

Positive

• Open interest record: 35,120,066 contracts on November 20, 2025
• Second-highest daily volume: 44,839,732 contracts on November 21, 2025
• $20 billion in estimated daily margin savings across interest rate products
• U.S. Treasury and SOFR futures eligible for portfolio and cross-margining

Negative

• None.

Insights

Market Structure Analyst

Record U.S. Treasury open interest and near-record daily volume signal stronger liquidity and client engagement in CME's rates complex.

This shows CME Group reached a new open interest high of November 20, 2025 with 35,120,066 contracts and traded a near-record daily volume of 44,839,732 contracts on November 21, 2025. High open interest together with elevated volume implies more active positions and deeper scale across the Treasury and SOFR futures and options complex, which supports tighter execution and hedging capacity for participants.

Key dependencies and risks include whether elevated activity reflects transient macro-driven positioning around expectations for Federal Reserve policy or a sustained shift in client usage; the release itself does not disclose counterparty concentration, margin calls, or changes in clearing risk. Watch for follow-up data over the next few weeks showing whether open interest remains above prior levels, and for any central clearing notices that would reveal margin or risk-management impacts within a 30-90 day horizon. Also note the company cites clients can access $20 billion in daily margin savings via portfolio and cross-margining, which materially frames the commercial value of this liquidity but is stated here without underlying calculations.

Second-highest Interest Rate daily volume on November 21

CHICAGO, Nov. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that open interest (OI) in its deeply liquid U.S. Treasury futures and options set a new record of 35,120,066 contracts on November 20. CME Group's deeply liquid interest rate futures and options complex also traded 44,839,732 contracts on November 21, the second-highest daily volume ever.

"As market participants navigate uncertainty around economic growth and the pace of Federal Reserve easing, they are turning to our markets for unparalleled efficiencies and liquidity across the yield curve," said Agha Mirza, CME Group Global Head of Rates and OTC Products. "Our strong OI and volume on November 20 & 21 is just the latest example of how our futures and options help clients to manage risk with precision and flexibility."

CME Group is the world's leading interest rate market, with futures and options for a broad range of benchmark products, including U.S. Treasuries, SOFR, Fed Funds, TBAs, credit and more. Its U.S. Treasury and SOFR contracts trade side-by-side on the CME Globex platform with BrokerTec cash securities.

Clients can access more than $20 billion in daily margin savings across the company's interest rate products. CME Group U.S. Treasury and SOFR futures are also eligible for portfolio margining with other cleared interest rate swaps and futures, as well as cross-margining with FICC-cleared cash U.S. Treasury notes, bonds and certain Repo transactions.

For more information, visit our product page at cmegroup.com/rates.

As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform. In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. 

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

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SOURCE CME Group

FAQ

What record did CME Group (CME) report on November 20, 2025?

CME reported a record 35,120,066 open interest contracts in U.S. Treasury futures and options on November 20, 2025.

How much volume did CME Group (CME) trade on November 21, 2025?

CME's interest rate futures and options traded 44,839,732 contracts on November 21, 2025, the second-highest daily volume ever.

What margin benefits did CME Group (CME) highlight in the announcement?

The company said clients can access more than $20 billion in daily margin savings and that U.S. Treasury and SOFR futures are eligible for portfolio and cross-margining.

Why did CME Group (CME) say activity increased in its interest rate markets in late November 2025?

CME attributed higher open interest and volume to market participants managing risk amid uncertainty over economic growth and the pace of Federal Reserve easing.

Are CME Group's U.S. Treasury and SOFR contracts available on the same trading platform?

Yes, U.S. Treasury and SOFR futures trade side-by-side on the CME Globex platform alongside BrokerTec cash securities.