ASX sets record futures trading in March on Iran war volatility
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The news: The ASX listed derivatives market has already set a record month of futures trading volumes as global volatility sparked by the US-Israel war with Iran pushes investors to manage interest rate and energy price exposure.
The numbers: Futures volumes on ASX 24 have already exceeded 28 million contracts, above the previously monthly record set in March 2020 at the height of the Covid market shock.
On 11 March, the ASX’s futures market set its highest volume trading day with 4.04 million contracts traded, 5.75% higher than the previous daily record set in December 2025.
Futures markets also saw twelve consecutive days of more than one million contracts traded, a new record streak. Average daily futures volumes for 2026 have also lifted above one million contracts per day for the first time.
Cash equity markets also saw their second largest trading day by value of executed trades on 20 March at $27.1 billion.
The context: The record futures trading day was driven by elevated quarterly roll volumes and growing market expectations that interest rates will stay high for longer.
The trading activity surge is taking place amid conflict in the Middle East and a severe spike in global oil prices and fuel availability. The path for domestic interest rates is also increasingly uncertain, with markets now pricing further increases of around 75 basis points, about three interest rate increases, in 2026.
While the Council of Financial regulators said on Monday that the Australian financial system has limited direct exposure to the Middle East, “further deterioration of the geopolitical environment could heighten risks to financial stability and requires continuing vigilance”.
What they said: “This has been an extraordinary period of activity across our markets. We’re seeing global geopolitical risk, energy price volatility and interest rate uncertainty translate directly into higher trading and hedging activity domestically,” ASX general manager trading operations Ben Jackson.
The source: ASX media release
