Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The Asia-Pacific has overtaken North America as the worldâs biggest derivatives market amid increasing demand for futures and options contracts in the regionâs fast-growing economies.
Derivatives contracts traded in Asia-Pacific accounted for 38 percent of the global total in the six months to June, according to data from the Washington-based Futures Industry Association. That compares with 33 percent in North America, it said.
It is the first time Asia has surpassed North America in derivatives trading volumes since the group started tracking the data in the 1980s, Will Acworth, a spokesman for the association, said in an e-mailed statement. Derivatives are financial instruments derived from stocks, bonds, loans, currencies and commodities, or linked to specific events such as changes in the weather or interest rates.
âThis is the culmination of a long-term growth trend in countries like Korea and Taiwan and more recently China and India,â Acworth said. âAt the same time, the steady growth that we have been seeing for many years in North America was interrupted by the credit crisis, which took some players out of the market and continues to depress trading activity.â
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ajH4SKBcKlZA&pos=6
Derivatives contracts traded in Asia-Pacific accounted for 38 percent of the global total in the six months to June, according to data from the Washington-based Futures Industry Association. That compares with 33 percent in North America, it said.
It is the first time Asia has surpassed North America in derivatives trading volumes since the group started tracking the data in the 1980s, Will Acworth, a spokesman for the association, said in an e-mailed statement. Derivatives are financial instruments derived from stocks, bonds, loans, currencies and commodities, or linked to specific events such as changes in the weather or interest rates.
âThis is the culmination of a long-term growth trend in countries like Korea and Taiwan and more recently China and India,â Acworth said. âAt the same time, the steady growth that we have been seeing for many years in North America was interrupted by the credit crisis, which took some players out of the market and continues to depress trading activity.â
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ajH4SKBcKlZA&pos=6
