New data from the China Futures Association reveals that in the first half of this year, the national futures market saw cumulative trading volume reach 51.05 billion lots, with a cumulative turnover of 482.7 trillion yuan, marking year-on-year increases of 25.23% and 42.08%, respectively. In June alone, trading volume stood at 9.39 billion lots, with turnover hitting 80.62 trillion yuan, representing year-on-year growth of 27% and 52.72%. By the end of June, open interest in the national futures market was 57.9591 million lots, up 7.98% from the previous month and 15.61% year-on-year.
The trading and open interest volumes for China's precious metals futures and options showed a mixed trend. From January to June, domestic precious metals futures and options trading volume reached 290.8 million lots, a 31.58% increase year-on-year, while turnover climbed to 98.316 trillion yuan, up 64.26%. However, open interest for precious metals futures and options at the end of June was 1.1404 million lots, a decline of 32.96% year-on-year.
Gold and silver futures and options experienced divergent movements in trading and open interest volumes. In the first six months, domestic gold futures and options trading volume totaled 58.5 million lots, down 22.46% year-on-year, while turnover was 46.57 trillion yuan, up 4.8%. Open interest for gold futures and options at the end of June stood at 370,400 lots, a 34.32% contraction year-on-year. In contrast, domestic silver futures and options trading volume reached 229.6 million lots during the same period, a 37.81% year-on-year surge, with turnover soaring 277.73% to 50.5 trillion yuan. Open interest for silver futures and options at the end of June was 735,300 lots, down 35.35% year-on-year.
Active products stood out in the futures market. By trading volume, the top three products were silver futures from the Shanghai Futures Exchange, along with petroleum asphalt futures and rebar futures; methanol futures, glass futures, and PTA futures from the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange; egg futures, coking coal futures, and soybean meal futures from the Dalian Commodity Exchange; and lithium carbonate options, lithium carbonate futures, and industrial silicon futures from the Guangzhou Futures Exchange. By turnover, the leading products included silver futures, gold futures, and tin futures from the Shanghai Futures Exchange; PTA futures, methanol futures, and rapeseed oil futures from the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange; coking coal futures, egg futures, and palm oil futures from the Dalian Commodity Exchange; and lithium carbonate futures, polysilicon futures, and industrial silicon futures from the Guangzhou Futures Exchange.
Financial futures and options on the China Financial Futures Exchange recorded trading volume of 32.6527 million lots, accounting for 3.48% of the national market, with turnover of 29.66 trillion yuan, representing 36.79% of the national total. The top three products by turnover were CSI 1000 stock index futures, CSI 500 stock index futures, and CSI 300 stock index futures. As of June 30, China had listed a total of 167 futures and options products.
In the first half of the year, amid an increasingly complex and volatile external environment, China's futures market continued to expand its trading scale, with cumulative trading volume up 25.23% and cumulative turnover up 42.08% year-on-year, while overall market open interest remained stable. At the end of June, open interest grew 7.98% month-on-month and 15.61% year-on-year, with a stable client structure. The futures market operated smoothly overall, demonstrating robust development momentum and strong resilience.
From a market functionality perspective, the futures market played a positive role in serving the real economy and stabilizing industrial and supply chains during the first half of 2026. As commodity price volatility intensified, the market exhibited clear rotation across sectors, with increasingly diversified participants. Through efficient price discovery and risk management mechanisms, the futures market provided effective hedging tools for various business entities, strongly supporting the stable operations of real enterprises.
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