Gold futures lead metals growth as CME July volume hits record

CME Group ADV, July 2026	Contracts	Change y/y
Total	27.0 million	+23%
Interest rate	12.6 million	+17%
Equity index	8.2 million	+48%
Energy	2.6 million	+9%
Agricultural	2.0 million	+15%
Micro Gold futures	287,000	+41%
1-Ounce Gold futures	51,000	+417%
WTI crude oil futures	953,000	+17%

CME Group reported on August 4, 2026 its highest July average daily volume on record, 27 million contracts, a 23% increase from July 2025. Within metals, smaller gold futures contracts posted some of the fastest growth in the release.

Micro Gold futures averaged 287,000 contracts a day, up 41%, and 1-Ounce Gold futures averaged 51,000, up 417%. The 1-ounce contract is a fraction of the size of the standard gold contract, so a fourfold rise from a small base points to growing interest from smaller accounts that want direct exposure to gold futures without the larger notional commitment. Total metals ADV was 788,000 contracts.

Energy averaged 2.6 million contracts, up 9%. WTI Crude Oil futures averaged 953,000 contracts, up 17%, a faster pace than the 4% gain the benchmark posted in May. That suggests the growth in crude oil futures, which earlier in the year had been concentrated in micro contracts, broadened to the main contract in July.

Equity index products grew fastest among the major asset classes, up 48% to 8.2 million contracts a day. Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures averaged 3 million contracts, up 159%. Interest rate ADV rose 17% to 12.6 million, and 10-Year Treasury Note options averaged 1.2 million contracts, up 46%. Agricultural products rose 15% to 2 million, foreign exchange rose 9% to 811,000, and cryptocurrency averaged 237,000 contracts, or $10.3 billion in notional value. International ADV grew 32% to 8.8 million contracts. EMEA rose 29% to 6.3 million and APAC rose 41% to 2.1 million. International growth outpaced the 23% rise in total volume, so participants outside the U.S. took a larger share of CME activity than a year earlier.

The July figures fit a pattern seen across CME’s 2026 releases: reduced-size contracts in gold, crude oil and equity indexes are growing several times faster than the overall business. For the metals complex in particular, the 1-ounce and micro contracts give smaller traders a way to hold gold futures positions sized closer to a typical retail account.

What to watch: whether micro and 1-ounce gold contracts keep growing at this pace once summer trading conditions end, and whether standard WTI volume stays near the 950,000 level. As with all exchange volume reports, the figures describe how much traded, not where gold or oil prices moved.