Published on: 2026-04-03
Source: Moscow Exchange – Московская Биржа –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The total volume of operations on the derivatives market of the Moscow Exchange as of the end of March 2026 amounted to a record 21.7 trillion rubles (13 trillion rubles in March 2025). The volume of open positions in the exchange-traded derivatives market increased by 33% by the end of the month, reaching almost 3 trillion rubles (2.1 trillion rubles as of the end of March 2025).
Futures and options transactions on the Moscow Exchange in February were made by 175 thousand individuals (+24% compared to March 2025), who have 250 thousand active brokerage accounts (+30% compared to March 2025) — a record activity level in the entire history of the Russian derivatives market.
The share of private investors in the total volume of trading in exchange-traded derivatives amounted to 51%. The segment of commodity futures and options was the most popular among individuals in March: 58% of the operations were accounted for by it. The share of currency derivatives made up 31%, while contracts on indices and stocks accounted for 11%.
The top 10 most popular instruments among individual investors by trading volume in March included Brent oil futures (BR), quarterly futures on currency pairs “US dollar–Russian ruble” (Si) and “Chinese yuan–Russian ruble” (CNY), gold futures (GOLD), perpetual contract on the currency pair “Chinese yuan–Russian ruble” (CNYRUBF), silver contracts (SILV), natural gas (NG), perpetual futures on the “US dollar–Russian ruble” exchange rate (USDRUBF), quarterly futures on the Moex Index (MIX) and perpetual contract on the Moex Index (IMOEXF).
The share of the evening trading session in the total trading volume in the derivatives market was 15.1%. Morning trades in March accounted for 5.6% of the total trading volume. The volume of operations on single days in the derivatives market amounted to 210 billion rubles.
High volatility in the global market has become an important factor in the growth of trading activity on the Moscow Exchange. On March 19, a historical maximum was updated for the daily volume of trades in derivatives, amounting to 1.7 trillion rubles at the end of the day (the previous maximum was 1.6 trillion on February 21, 2022). For the month, the average daily volume of futures and options transactions on the Moscow Exchange reached a record 986 billion rubles.
The main contribution to the growth in activity was made by commodity and currency contracts. The average daily trading volume of quarterly futures on the pair “Chinese yuan-Russian ruble” (CNY) reached the maximum value in the entire trading history and amounted to 143 billion rubles (+40% compared to December 2025) and perpetual futures (CNYRUBF) – 55 billion rubles (+57% compared to February 2025). The open interest volume in perpetual futures on the yuan increased by 51% by the end of the month and reached a record level – 261 billion rubles (the previous maximum was in February 2025).
The absolute leader in average daily volume of operations on the Moscow Exchange derivatives market in March 2026 was Brent crude oil futures (BR) – 172 billion rubles (an increase of 9% compared to the previous record in March 2021). The average daily trading volume of mini Brent crude oil futures (BRM) also reached a historical maximum of 7.7 billion rubles (an increase of 14 times compared to June 2021). In addition, a record average daily trading volume was recorded in European natural gas futures (TTF) – 3.1 billion rubles (an increase of 25 times compared to August 2025).
Urgent market of the Moscow Exchange – a leading platform for trading derivative financial instruments in Russia and Eastern Europe, which combines advanced infrastructure, reliability and guarantees, as well as the most modern technologies for trading futures and options. Today, the Moscow Exchange derivatives market trades 41 stock options, 3 currency options, a gold option, an index option, more than 160 futures and options contracts on underlying assets that include stock indices, stocks, currency pairs, precious and industrial metals, oil, gas and other commodities, interest rates.
Please note; This information is raw content received directly from the information source. It represents an exact report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.