A total of 601,000 contracts were traded (over-the-counter and on exchanges) between April 2008 and March 2009, compared to 985,000 contracts during the same period in 2007/2008, according to a WRMA survey released yesterday. The estimated notional market value was $15 billion during this period.

In Asia, the number of weather contracts traded rose to 6,837 for the current year, compared to 1,940 in 2007/2008. In Europe, 34,068 contracts were traded in 2008/2009, compared to the previous year's