The Options Industry Council Announces Continued Growth of Options Trading as April Volume Increases Nearly 30 Percent

Chicago—May 1, 2007

The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that 196,883,295 total options contracts traded in April, continuing a high-growth trend as this represents a 29.7 percent increase over April 2006 volume. Average daily volume for the month was 9,844,165.

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) reported year-to-date volume at the end of April stood at 806,306,082 contracts, an increase of 26.5 percent over the same period last year. Year-to-date daily volume is averaging 9,954,396 contracts, up 26.5 percent over the same period in 2006.

Equity options saw 177,989,383 contracts change hands, 27.4 percent higher than April 2006. Year-to-date equity options volume is 728,987,340 contracts, up 24.4 percent over the same point last year. Daily equity options volume averaged 8,899,469 contracts per day in April, an increase of 21.1 percent over the same month last year.

About OIC

OIC is a non-profit association funded by the American Stock Exchange, Boston Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NYSE Arca, Philadelphia Stock Exchange and The Options Clearing Corporation. OIC's resources include: The Options Industry Services call center at 1-888-OPTIONS, educational Web sites at www.888options.com and www.OICoptions.com, evening seminars throughout the continental United States and Canada , instructional DVDs and educational literature and software.

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