CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwire) -- 02/01/13 -- The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that 361,071,621 total options contracts were traded in January. That is a 7.65 percent increase from January last year when 335,399,999 contracts were traded, and the highest monthly volume since May 2012.

Average daily volume in January stood at 17,193,887 contracts, a 2.53 percent increase over the 16,770,000 contract average in January 2012. Equity options volume came in at 327,265,575 contracts, a 4.43 percent increase from last January.

Last month marks the second highest January trading volume on record, behind January 2011. January trading represents a strong start to the year, with average daily volume 7.36 percent higher than the 2012 average daily volume of 16,015,416 contracts.

About OIC
OIC is an industry cooperative funded by BATS Options, BOX Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, C2 Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NASDAQ OMX PHLX, NASDAQ Options Market, NYSE Amex Options, NYSE Arca Options and OCC. OIC was formed in 1992 to educate investors and their financial advisors about the benefits and risks of exchange-traded equity options. OIC's resources include: Investor Services live help at 1-888-OPTIONS, its educational website at www.OptionsEducation.org, live seminars throughout the continental United States and Canada, and educational literature.