Osaka Exchange (OSE) listed 3-month TONA Futures, short-term interest rate futures for TONA (Tokyo OverNight Average Rate), on May 29.
Trading volume on the first day, May 29, reached 2,782 contracts, a solid start. On May 30, 1,701 contracts were traded, though the U.S. and European markets were closed. With the opening of the U.S. and European markets, many transactions took place during the night session, and 4,351 contracts were traded on May 31. Average Daily Volume for the 1st week (May 29 – Jun 2) was at 2,506 contracts. Open interest on June 2 stood at 3,883 contracts.
According to an OSE representative, feedback from market participants was that they saw tighter quotes and more liquidity than firstly expected, leading to more trading. As a result, OSE has received many inquiries from domestic institutional investors and foreign investors that wish to newly enter the market, though they were initially taking a wait-and-see position, and therefore expects a further increase in the number of market participants in the near future. Market makers are also expected to be more aggressive with their quotes, and the diversification of participants is expected to further increase liquidity.
During the first three days, hundreds to thousands of contracts have already been traded between the first contract month (Mar 2023) through the fifth contract month (Mar 2024). The most liquid contracts were the second (Jun 2023) and third (Sep 2023) contract months. Throughout most of the trading hours, these contracts were tightly quoted at one tick (1/4 basis), and there were often thousands of quotes lined up for each bids and offers. Even during the night session, quotes of several hundred or thousand lots were available, making it possible to trade even during London and New York hours.
JSCC aims to introduce cross margining with OTC interest rate swaps in the first quarter of 2024. OSE will also implement measures to further improve convenience.
For more information on 3-month TONA Futures, please visit the following webpage: