Strong Start to 2026 for CME FX
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: February 4, 2026
As was the case with the first group of platforms to report volume data, CME Group’s venues also had a strong start to the year thanks to increased volatility and uncertainty.
CME’s FX futures and options franchise handled average daily volume (ADV) in notional terms of $87 billion, the Merc’s fourth busiest non-roll month since Covid and up 4.8% year-on-year. Good growth was seen in JPY (31%) and AUD (28%) on a year-on-year basis, and a new record single-day futures and options open interest of 1.43 million EUR contracts ($210 billion equivalent) was set on 29 January. CME says it also had record monthly average daily OI monthly of 1.29 million contracts ($187 billion in EUR, which is up +33% year-on-year.
CME also points to the large open interest holder (LOIH) data provided by the CFTC which shows growing adoption via the number of customers holding ‘large’ open positions in CME Group markets. According to CFTC data published on 27 January 2026, total CME Group FX LOI holders was 1430, a new high, while new records were established in “major FX” (1064), EM FX (366), AUD (144), BRL (115). It also cites record asset manager positioning across CME Group FX futures (~$190 billion in gross notional) and in EUR futures (~$108 billion in gross notional) on 13 January. While it does not provide numbers, CME also says FX options maintained its momentum, rising 15% year-on-year after a strong 2025.
FX Spot+, which was launched in April 2025, hit a new peak on 27 January, just popping above the previous high from December, hitting $8.3 billion, while FX Link had its busiest month since September 2024 at $5.7 billion ADV.
It was also a good month for EBS, which reports ADV of $74.8 billion, this is up 46.7% from December and up 12.5% year-on-year. It is also EBS’ fourth busiest month since March 2020. EBS Metals also hit a new high, on 29 January, trading $10.2 billion.
The CME Group G5 CVOL Index averaged 6.97 in January, a bounce from 6.07 in December, but still the third lowest since July 2024.
