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on other market activity. For example, when

prices make a move, how many traders are participating and who are

they? Volume and open interest are indicators that reflect some

basic numbers about how traders are driving the market, and

Commitments of Traders reports reveal the caliber of

participants involved.

Volume and

open interest - In and of themselves, volume and open interest

data may not be that valuable other than to indicate the liquidity

of a market. But used in conjunction with price action, these

numbers serve as a strength indicator that can provide some

meaningful verification about the significance of a price move.

Volume is the number of transactions in a

futures or options on futures contract made during a specified

period of time, usually one trading session. One buy and one sell

equals a volume of one.

Open interest is the total number of futures or

options on futures contracts that have not yet been offset or

fulfilled by delivery. It is an indicator of the depth or liquidity