The Bank of International Settlements reported that the volume of over-the-counter derivatives contracts outstanding continued to rise in the final half of 2005, albeit at a slowing pace.

Notional amounts of all types of OTC contracts excluding credit derivatives stood at US$285 trillion at the end of December, 5% higher than six months before. The growth in notional amounts was particularly strong in contracts on commodities (23%) and equities (11%), and more moderate in the much larger interest rate (5%) and foreign exchange (2%) segments of the market, it reported.

Gross market values, which measure the cost of replacing all contracts and thus represent a better measure of risk at a given point in time than notional amounts, declined by 12% to $9 trillion. This was mainly due to a rebound in long-term interest rates, which reduced the replacement costs of interest rate swaps, it said.

http://www.bis.org/press/p060519a.htm