In December, CME’s US dollar credit futures traded US$400 million in average daily volume ( ADV) with US$541 million in open interest (OI), Cboe’s iBoxx iShares suite printed US$148 million ADV and jUS$2.0 billion in OI. Eurex’s euro contracts saw €375 million ADV on a record €2.6 billion of opened positions, as Cboe’s full-year average open interest tripled year-on-year to US$1.4 billion.
CME
December average daily volume (ADV) was US$400 million for the complex, down from November’s US$458 million and September’s record US$623 million, but still 34% higher than December 2024 (US$298 million). Average open interest (OI) ended the year at US$541 million, lower than the October high of US$672 million and US$626 million in November, but more than five and a half times December 2024’s US$96 million. On a full-year basis, CME’s dollar credit futures averaged US$265 million in ADV and US$377 million in OI in 2025.
Within CME’s suite, the investment-grade total return future IQB and its duration-hedged doppelganger DHB accounted for 63% of the CME’S credit futures ADV and for half of OI. On the high yield side, the total return HYB future traded US$80 million a day on average in December but had the highest OI of the complex at US$205 million, nine times its December 2024 OI. The newer duration-hedged DHY contract, launched in March 2025, had US$67 million of ADV and US$72 million of OI, or 17% of the credit futures suite flow and 13% of open positioning.
Cboe
December marked a normalisation in flow after November’s record, but OI remained at a new high. December ADV in the US dollar iBoxx iShares futures was US$148 million, well below November’s US$455 million, but 59% above December 2024’s US$93 million. Average OI edged up to approximately US$1.95 billion in December. For 2025 overall, Cboe’s dollar credit futures averaged US$175 million in ADV and US$1.36 billion in OI, compared with US$84 million and US$464 million in 2024.
LQD, the ETF / index upon which the investment grade IBIG futures contract is based saw US$2.6 bn of redemptions in December, while HYG upon which the high yield IBHY futures contract is based saw US$1.6 bn of inflows.
Eurex
In euros, Eurex’s Bloomberg MSCI based futures saw a sharp rebound in flows to close the year, as well as continued growth in OI. December ADV reached €375 million, up from €81 million in November and €63 million in October, and 6% above Decem
ber 2024’s €354 million. OI rose to a new high of €2.63 billion, from €2.42 billion in November and €1.58 billion in December 2024, an increase of 66% year-on-year. Over 2025 average OI in Eurex’s euro credit futures was €2.04 billion, up 16% from €1.75 billion in 2024, while average ADV slowed to €223 million from €278 million.
Eurex’s sterling-denominated contracts remained marginal. December ADV was £1.6 million, compared with about £22.0 million a year earlier, while average OI fell to £6.2 million from £13.8 million. For 2025 on average, sterling ADV was £5.7 million and OI about £10.9 million, down from approximately £20.4 million and £18.3 million in 2024.
By contrast, Eurex’s US dollar credit futures showed strong growth from a small base. December ADV was US$111 million, up from US$76.5 million in October and US$62.7 million in December 2024. OI was US$174 million, compared with US$22.7 million a year earlier. For 2025 overall, average ADV in Eurex’s dollar suite was US$170 million versus US$20 million in 2024, and average OI was US$248 million versus US$31 million.
The December and full-year figures for credit futures flows and positioning show that Cboe’s credit future suite has the largest stock of OI with consistently higher volumes. CME’s dollar complex is no longer niche; its newer duration hedged products are growing fast, while Eurex dominates euro credit future positioning with steadily rising OI.
Volumes on new products are often heavily impacted by changing market making incentives.
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