(NAFB) – CME Group reports the Grain and Oilseed option complex averaged 3.9 million contracts of open interest, the highest mark ever in the month of May.

The complex also had an average daily volume of 351,000 contracts, the second-highest mark in May. July Corn ended May with a 41 percent implied volatility, the highest level going back to 2007. July added more than 90,000 contacts of open interest reaching 636,000 contracts, with the $7 calls having the most volume and open interest change.

On May 11, Soybean Oil, Soybean Meal, Lean Hog, Live Cattle, Class III Milk, and an Ag broad-based index were added to the suite of CME Group Volatility Indexes. CME Group says the tool is specifically useful in the current Grain and Oilseed markets to understand the change in implied volatility over time and in relation to other Ag products.

The indexes are seen as a key indicator of forward risk expectations, noted as implied volatility.