open interest
noun [ U ]
ukus FINANCE (also open contracts [ plural ]); (open commitments [ plural ])
the total number of futures contracts (= agreements to sell shares, etc. on a particular date in the future) or options contracts (= agreements to buy shares, etc. on a particular date in the future) that have not been finished or cancelled:
At the beginning of the year, open interest totaled only 148,000 contracts.